thr34d5 organized its very first workshop in collaboration with Volumes Coworking in the framework of the 2017 edition of Futur en Seine; the largest free and open to the public festival in Europe that is centred around innovation.
The day-long event, held at Volumes Coworking, one of Paris’s pioneer community spaces and digital fabrication labs, was intended as an opportunity to introduce visitors to computational design and some of the possibilities digital manufacturing offers.
A diverse group of participants of all ages from families with children interested in a weekend activity to those curious about innovative manufacturing techniques and their novelty dropped by at their convenience to personalize origami pieces and witness their fabrication as well the assembly of an installation piece. Participants were provided with access to the design software and equipment needed, while members of thr34d5 were attentive to guiding and assisting them throughout the process.
First, participants were given a brief introduction to the tools and software they would be using and a tour of Volumes’ digital fabrication lab – MakerSpace. Then they were presented with a template origami design and given the opportunity to manipulate simple parameters in order to customize it. In addition to playing with the folds and final form, they could also engrave the origami with a message of their choosing or add their name. Once satisfied with their piece, participants were then accompanied through the laser-cutting steps. All the origami pieces were fabricated out of sheets of white A3 construction paper.
During this event, thr34d5 members also assembled a structure designed using the same parametric design methods as used for the origami. The piece was built out of a light timber structure and represents a complex geometry panelisation using construction paper. In a similar vein to the origami pieces produced by visitors, this installation piece was fabricated using laser cutting and relied on folding to generate a final form. In parallel, this installation piece and the individual origami pieces were intended to bring attention to the scales at which computational design and digital fabrication can intervene, even when using materials as commonplace as paper and wood.
TEAM
Project Management: Tim Leeson
Concept: Paula Echeverri Montes, Hasnaa Benlafkih, Wael el Allouche, Adrien Rigobello, Tim Leeson
Construction: Paula Echeverri Montes, Hasnaa Benlafkih, Keerthana Govindarazan, Paul Carneau, Mladen Babic, Wael el Allouche, Adrien Rigobello, Tim Leeson
Text: Hasnaa Benlafkih
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