B.15:45 ARCHITECTURAL MODELMAKING EXHIBITION – Job Done

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Workshop

At long last we have completed our snapshot look at the past 45 years of the B.15 Modelmaking workshop at the University of Manchester.

It’s been challenging and fascinating taking this from an idea to reality over the last year. We’ve had a lot of fun putting this all together and hope you learn and enjoy it as much as we have.

It goes without saying that there’s a lot of thanks to others for helping us along the way. In particular we’d like to acknowledge Louise & Saul Parker-Backhouse and Paul Thornber who went above an beyond the call of duty to give their time and help us get this fantastic collection on display.

If you’re not joining us this evening for the private view we’ll see you soon to start making exhibits for the next one…

Scott and Jim

‘Testing The Machines Of A Third Industrial Revolution’ Cross Section Presentation Model, Abhi Chauhan

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Workshop

This project was completed in the final weeks of the last academic year by 6th year MA Student Abhi Chauhan. The project is the follow on to the 1:100 section we featured several months back. What is particularly appropriate about the styling of this project is the subject matter or the site. Being a 3D Printing Manufacturing facility of the future means no better method of production that the technology in question. This is definitely something to consider when devoting yourself to a major project like this – for example, if you are building an eco-concious design then that ethic should carry through to your presentation and thus model construction. This project sticks to its purpose through and through.

Abhi has been since graduated and started a full time position at Grimshaws in London. We wish him all the best in his future career!

This piece will be on display as part of our B.15:45 Exhibition so be sure to have a look in person.

Abhi has kindly written us this extensive account of the theory and construction methods he used in this stunning final piece. Enjoy!

This model is a final exhibition 1:50 sectional model. The slice is located through a key component of the building scheme titled ‘The Machines Of A Third Industrial Revolution’ The model slice – in detail depicts the processes of 3d printing of 1:1 architectural components, to be tested on a stalled concrete frame bounding the site. The design of the facility is such that it sits into a trench in the ground and features a folded roof structure which integrates a 3d printed park at ground level with the industrial processes of the facility within. The scale of the facility has been designed to be oversized, to deal with the variety of large scales that are needed in the manufacture of components for the construction industry.

The model builds upon the 1:100 sectional model completed earlier this year, and takes on a similar aesthetic to that of a cross section through a large industrial machine hanging of the walls of the facility.

The model has been constructed with a variety of different techniques.

The base has been CNC cut from x15 18mm mdf sheets layered and glued together. This method, although not the most cost effective meant that each layer of the base could be designed to incorporate slots and grooves within for housing of the various components that would eventually complete the model.

The red structural parts forming the portal steel frame structure hung within the trench were all constructed in 3ds max and then 3d printed on the ABS printer. These parts were then spray-painted to get the final red finish seen. Other components that were printed, include some of the facade components, and the series of storage tanks and pipes to the right of the trench. This method of manufacture was chosen sue to the time constraints, the subject matter of the project, and the complex shape of some of the parts.

The roof was also 3d printed and a shelling script in grasshopper gave the folded structure a thickness to make watertight for 3d printing. This part was the most challenging to construct and after a variety of failed tests the part was printed at Hobs due to their larger printer beds (up to 1500mm wide) which allowed for the part to be printed as one component. Finishing the roof are a series of card panels (depicting a metal skin) which were laser cut and engraved. These were bonded to the 3d printed structural roof frame using spray mount.

The material archives (in white) set into the base of the model were the last parts to be 3d printed on the model, and were done on the powder 3d printers. These constructs were notoriously fragile and once installed in the base had their edges and portions of their rebuilt in white pollyfilla.

The remaining components making up the model have been formed from either 2 or 3mm clear acyclic. For example the 3d printers on the -2 level have been laser cut form a mixture of 2 and 3mm acrylic and then assembled to snap fit and slot together to avoid gluing. This clear aesthetic was chosen for a variety of the model parts as can be seen.

The landscaped elements including the cranes and gantry and the main internal staircase were all laser cut from 2mm mdf. These part were all spray painted to the final grey and black finish shown.

The facade skin (resembling an ETFE system) was vacuum formed over a 3d printed mould. The mould was designed with groves in it and as such were expressed in the final plastic shells.

Before any parts were manufactured every part was modelled in 3d and then assembled to create a master digital model. (see image) Due to the large amount of parts on this model this was necessary to eliminate any unforeseen mistakes which would be harder to rectify once parts had already been cut.

Each part of the model was treated as a mini project i.e. the main facade, the main stair case, the 3d printers on the ground floor, etc. Once these were all assembled and sprayed the whole model was put together like a giant jigsaw. Due to the fact that almost every part was digitally fabricated there were few tolerance errors during final assembly.

The model took approximately 3 weeks to translate from an actual section into model drawings and then 3 weeks to get all the parts cut and painted and a final week to assemble together.

B.15:45 EXHIBITION Opening September 12th 2014 and Running throughout 2015

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Workshop

At long last we are able to give some definite details of our upcoming retrospective exhibition. The exhibition will open on September 12th with a private view and will run throughout the remainder of 2014 and 2015.

Over the last few weeks we have been compiling, repairing, cleaning and organising models in preparation for the exhibition. In addition to the display of a wide range of model types and styles the exhibition will feature a video overview from academic and technical staff that have worked in the school over the years giving their perspective on the use of models.

A Platform to Archive

Whilst this exhibition will present a range of making over the last 45 Years here in Manchester we would like to continue to expand our archive and record and even more in depth history of Modelmaking in Architecture. With this in mind we would like to encourage and welcome any further stories or media, physical or digital to keep expanding our heritage collections. If you have any stories, images or models from the history of the university as a whole please get in touch to help us expand our archive and heritage collection.

We look forward to seeing you at the opening!

Scott and Jim

Alexandr Valakh takes First Prize at the Tata/BCSA Competition

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Workshop

Familiar face in the workshop Alexandr Valakh has won the Tata/BCSA First prize for his Stacked City Prototype project, with particular praise for his submission blending the use of models and renders to convey the different aspects of his design. MSA wrote a short article on their news feed here.

This Model along with some of alex’s earlier work will be on display as part of the upcoming exhibition, B.15:45.

We wish Alex all the best for his future projects.

SEED PSS Conference Workshop

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Workshop

On Wednesday we held a short hand-on workshop for the Professional Support Staff at the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED), the School in which our workshop is tied in UoM.

We gave an overview of the role we play in students work and how our equipment is suited to this followed by a short assembly session of some laser cut components.

Feedback on the session was very positive and we hope to take part in similar collaboration workshops with staff in the future.

Jim and Scott

B.15:45 Exhibition Updates

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Workshop

Hi everyone!

Apologies for that lack of recent updates. We have been very busy researching, designing and building the upcoming B.15:45 Modelmaking Exhibition for September.

We can now be almost 100% sure that the exhibition will be opening on the evening of Friday 12th September 2014 – This will be confirmed very soon and we will be sure to post full details on here.

We have been able to gather a fantastic array of projects from the schools most recent exhibition as well as other more historic examples presenting a great range. If you haven’t already we encourage you to share this link to help us get even more responses for our survey and record a more complete history of the workshop through peoples accounts.

https://selectsurveys.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=92MH6l42

Every view is valuable to us so don’t hesitate to add your own!

Today we conducted the first of an upcoming series of video interviews on the role of Architectural Modelmaking and the history of our workshop. We spoke to MSA Lecturer Eamonn Canniffe who first began working at the school in 1986. He gave his perspective on how the use of models has influenced architectural design for students up to it’s current role as well as informing us of the role his study models of classic 20th Century Architecture with students played.

This interview along with several others will be edited to help us tell the story of modelmaking in our exhibition. Complete individual interviews will also be posted over a period of time to hear more accounts of modelmaking and workshop life at the school over the past 45 years – B.15:TV is born!

More updates soon!

Scott

Visiting London Architecture School Shows

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Workshop

There have been a great range of Architecture school shows this past month some of which we have been able to visit to see what the rest of the world is offering in architectural education. This has proved very interesting and in some ways reassuring in our approach to making at MSA.

The graduate show at Westminster gave a really good balance of processes and materials in their model work.

Over at the Architectural Association the projects were heavily focussed on exploring CAD driven potential in their designs. There were a great selection of structural studies and organic forms. It was good to see such a wide variety of processes being used to develop the projects here with things often being made out of everyday and seemingly unorthodox materials such as scouring pads and liquorice!

At The Bartlett show each graduate display was vast. The mix of graphic and making media on show here was immense. Despite the scale of it all I felt that there was a lot of money misused here with huge sets of models produced entirely using 3D printing on an industrial scale.

The show was stunning but overall I felt it was much more a case of money over well considered decisions in terms of making and being waste conscious. That said I’d recommend anyone go to visit these shows in future to see the range of things produced and consider your own approach to getting the results you want. The quality of a display can look crisp, enticing and impressive but the real value of it for you as a student should be in the quality of your design and your ability to effectively convey it.

You don’t need an excess of money to do this. It takes planning and careful consideration of your aims.

Scott

MSA Graduate Show 2014

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Workshop

This years graduate show at MSA is being held on floors 6,7 and 8 of Chatham Building at MMU. Find out more by clicking here.

Stunning hand drawings by Richard Coskie on display below.

The Processional Cities Atelier of BA3 produced an outstanding room display of their work. One reason this particular presentation was successful is down to the clear placement of each persons work and, being focussed round a central master plan Â model, where each project fits in relation to the area of study on the site.

It’s great to see the value the models produced throughout the year have played in each persons project.

Be sure to get over there for a look around some of the fantastic work on show before in closes next Wednesday 25th June!

‘Lithification’ 1:200 site model, James Taylor-Foster

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Workshop

As part of the final major project for his 3rd year submission James decided to produce his completed concept for the former Odeon cinema site on Oxford Street in Manchester at 1:200 scale.

James described the project for us below:

This project is, fundamentally, a house for stone fragments in the heart of Manchesters civic centre. Combining gallery spaces with workshops for stonemasonry, the buildings programme hinges around a tripartite relationship between stone as symbol, material and object. The spaces which consolidate these three spatial threads create a communicative dialogue between street and threshold, node and surface, alongside person and occupation. Designed to activate encounters between the material fabric of the built environment, movement of people, and the intimate craft of stone carving, the scheme seeks to integrate with (rather than reconfigure) the symbolic fabric of the city. The scheme, heavily influenced by ritualised occupancy both human and non-human (such as the daily, repeated zenith of falling light), distills the principle elements of a building into a collection of interdependent, intangible relationships. Volume, void and light align to create moments of lateral swelling in which the interaction of people supersedes, yet elevates and accentuates, particular formal moves. Capturing these ideas in a model was a challenge. Using a lightly grained wood, jelutong, to mass the large volumes of space, 3D printed elements bring focus to two elements: the entrance loggia in the centre of the building and the facade that faces Oxford Street, a busy Mancunian thoroughfare. In using a modest palette of materials, focus is drawn to the relationship between these two key elements that activate the street and public space they face. All sat on a heavy mahogany base – elevated by a thin sheet of plywood which denotes the street kerb – this simple, diagrammatic, 1:200 model works alongside a collection of drawings to visualise a complex orchestration of space. (James Taylor-Foster 2014)

Due to the fragile nature of the powder printing material when used in thin volumes there were several breakages to smaller elements of the model. These were repaired using a mix of styrene strips and filler. Once repaired the whole model was reinforced by soaking it in superglue and finished with a coat of white paint. It is always worth remembering that the smaller details of designs are a potential break risk for 3D powder printing. If possible try not to produce components smaller that 2mm in size and thickness. You should always consider the removal process and how this will be successfully carried out given your design. See more of James’ work by clicking here.

A reimagining of slums , QED, Alexandr Valakh Part 2

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Workshop

Back in March we looked at Alex’s 1:100 model exploring the assembly of his proposed site. Alex completed his model series by producing a 3D printed site model and finally a cross section model showing the relationship between the individual units and the optional outer skin facade.

After several days in the chemical bath to remove support material Alex placed his 3D printed model in a purpose made display case to protect it from intrigued hands! It’s always worth noting that forms such as this require a lot of support material when made on the ABS plastic printer which often means extended periods of time post-printing in the chemical bath.
The outer skin of the model was made using paper components that were CAD designed and laser cut before being hand assembled. The completed skin was fixed onto the plywood frame carefully using superglue.
Mass produced standardised components were designed to be quickly assembled to create the form much like the full scale proposal offers.Â Alex has produced some fantastic models here over the last two years and we encourage everyone to look at this level of work for inspiration. All the best for the future Alex!