Catalyst week has finished up at UMN. It was an intense 5-day workshop where graduate students explored a large data set of alumni records and school history as part of the School of Architecture's upcoming 100 year celebration. Students were challenged to use these records as a form generator by linking key outputs and queries to control a parametric system and inform a material strategy.
The students created diagrams, schematic drawings, renderings, parametric algorithms, scaled models, and 1-1 mock-ups. The ideas generated in the workshop will be used as the starting point for a complete installation to be exhibited in October as part of a black-tie UMN alumni event.
Other Catalyst workshops occurred in parallel. Guest instrucors included Kiel Mo from the Harvard GSD, Billie Faircloth from Kieran Timberlake, Karen Lewis from OSU, and Barry Kudrowitz from UMN.
For a full gallery of our week-long process,
check out the wiki page...
Here are some snapshots from the Material In/Formation workshop led by Adam Marcus and myself....
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| Students get a shop equipment tutorial. |
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| Diagram of assembling a system of used plotter tubes |
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| Rendering of a plotter tube assembly |
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| Mock-up of the tube connections. |
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| A study for a tetrahedral tiling pattern |
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| Rendering of a lattice surface. |
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| Plasma cutting metal components for a lattice mock-up. |
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| Plywood component connections driven by time and geographic relationships. |
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| Prototype assembly of plywood discs. |
