Over the rest of the semester we will be developing a series of building skins through design and prototype to construction on the Ari Bhod site. We will approach the design of a building skin as one would approach the design of clothing, as a flexible, adaptable layering membrane that augments the body it is dressing. The design of these skins should allow different bodies- sites and cabins- to be fitted and accommodated, and be adaptable to the changing climate throughout the day and seasons.
We will be designing for two scenarios: each scenario has pre-existing conditions that will function as the site for the intervention.
Scenario 1: Prototype Cabin 1: Inside-Out Lining
The first cabin built by Woodbury students in 2009 is currently 60% complete. Walls of concrete block and wood framing with polycarbonate cladding form the major exterior walls. The completion of the cabin requires construction of the roof and finalizing the exterior envelope at the entrance and window openings and insulating the cabin interior. The skin system of the Inside-Out Lining will need to be self-supporting at times and at others must attach to the existing structure.
Scenario 2: Prototype Cabin 2: SuprA-typical Shell
The existing cabins on the site are basic shelters that are currently abandoned and used as storage. Our approach in this year’s Design Build studio will be to conserve and re-use as much of the existing structure as possible, to minimize demolition, construction and waste production on the site. In order to restore habitation to the structure and extend its occupation from seasonal (summer camp) to year round the entire shell of the structure needs to be reconsidered, rebuilt and refinished. Our goal is to create a thermally insulated building envelope that also embeds the programmatic needs of the visitor into its thickness, to create a multi-functioning skin system.
Filed under: Ari Bhod Design Studio: Introduction, cladding, insulation, Skin, Wall System, waterproofing
Woodbury / Ari Bhod Design Build Studio 