The American design studio PROJECTIONE, currently located in Indiana- USA, fabricated an advanced computational installation for the Institute of Digital Fabrication in Ball State’s College of Architecture known as EXOtique. The prime target was to create a simple, hexagonally oriented, component mechanism that would function as a “lit drop ceiling” for the location.
Courtesy of © PROJECTiONE
With the successful use of computer aided programmes and good student assistance, they were able enough to complete the project within the scope of 6 days. Consequently all the appropriate algorithmic calculations were geometrically manufactured and calculated in Grasshopper apart from the input surface from Rhino, this consists of all unrolling for fab, label, patterning, and connections.
Courtesy of © PROJECTiONE
Also, there was no hardware needed for connections except for the given hangers for the lamp strings. The ceiling height though allowed for a bit of variation in the surface. Tabs on the styrene lock into the solid acrylic connectors, operating as a rigid sidewall, provoking the material to bend within the component as juxtaposition to its edges.
Courtesy of © PROJECTiONE
This lets all components to come across constantly and result in a rigid shell after being linked together. The lit hexagonal panels perform as the hanger interconnection point for the piece. A custom acrylic tab was initially designed to sustain the socket cable after being penetrated through the component .
Courtesy of © PROJECTiONE
