RESIDENCY 01 _ STAIRWAY

During our four-month residency at SPACE10 in Copenhagen in the fall of 2016, we researched the potential relationship between traditional craftsmanship and digital fabrication through a set of 1:1 prototypes.
We used digital fabrication, specifically CNC milling, to make contemporary translations of three different traditional craft techniques. The aim was to preserve these techniques by adapting them to contemporary production methods, while also imbuing digital fabrication with time-proven qualities. Here, we began developing a digitally-fabricated architecture with an atmospheric, human, and timeless quality.
Our residency culminated in a permanent architectural installation as well as an evening of lectures. For the final installation, we chose the stairway at SPACE10 as the context for our final set of 3 digitally-fabricated spatial prototypes.
One prototype, a Douglas Fir column extending through the center of the stairway through all 3 levels of the building, translates a traditional Japanese Tsugi joint into simple curves for CNC milling. It also makes those who walk up the stairs appreciate the scale of the space.
The next prototype translates traditional chasing and hammering techniques for soft metals into single-point-incremental-forming, to create a copper reflector to create a warm lighting atmosphere in the evenings. Here, the CNC mill is used to push and form over a mold, rather than to cut.
The third prototype makes use of the subtle precision of the CNC machine to translate classical plaster ornamentation into a light-catching wall with an optical effect that unexpectedly creates subtly curved shadows when hit with direct light. This wall brings attention to and emphasizes the changing quality of the light over the course of the day.