Engineering
Material Support
Special Thanks to
_Elizabeth Mossop
_Anna Cristina Pertierra
_Gwyn Jones
_Tran Dang
_Michael Bennett
_Mohammed Makki
_Greg Martens
_Diane Yelavic
The Superwood exhibition for South by Southwest Sydney displays outcomes from a design studio of the same name, part of the University of Technology Sydney [UTS] Master of Architecture program. The studio challenged students to imagine projects as exemplars of a decarbonised built environment. Working in teams of four each produced structurally optimised, low-embodied carbon architectural designs, robotically fabricated 1:1 prototypes and Augmented Reality [AR] installations. The projects demonstrate the potentials of four distinct material systems:
_45x90mm Plantation Radiata Pine
3-Dimensional spaceframe with timber-only connections
_12mm Plywood Plantation Radiata Pine
Bending-active pleated shell with intregral connections
_130mm 3-Layer Plantation Radiata Pine Cross-Laminated Timber [CLT]
Vault made from the waste (door- and window-cutouts) of another project.
_Selectively harvested blue- and grey-gum scanned natural forks
[Eucalyptus Globulus and Eucalyptus Punctata]
Irregular gridshell whose geometry is dependent on the catalogue of available forks.
Studio Leader
DAVE PIGRAM invents new design and material systems to produce climate positive outcomes and memorable places, objects and experiences. He is a computational designer, educator, advanced fabrication researcher, and co-director of the international award-winning architecture and innovation practice supermanoeuvre.
A pioneer in the fields of Algorithmic Architecture and RoboticFabrication, his work has been widely exhibited internationally including at multiple Venice and Beijing Architecture Biennales; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; New York’s Storefront for Art andArchitecture; and the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum.
Dave has previously served as Director of the Master of Advanced Architecture program at the University of Technology, Sydney [UTS]; the first Researcher in Residence of the NCCR for Digital Fabrication at the ETH Zürich; a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of Michigan; and Research Affiliate at the MIT Media Lab. He was a project leader at Studio Daniel Libeskind on projects such as the 5.5 Billion Euro Cape Grace scheme to expand Monaco.
supermanoeuvre is the winner of the ‘Smarter Hobart Challenge’ international design competition; the Young Architect’s Forum [YAF] Atlanta Design Build Competition; a Red Dot Design Award; Good Design Award; Architizer A+ Juried and Popular Choice Awards; an Australian National Urban Design Award and were recently named ‘Most Innovative International Architecture Firm - Australia’ by BUILD Magazine [UK]. Artifacts from their design process innovations are in the permanent collection of the FRAC Orléans, France.
Students
_Cheera Montriwat
_Aysan Jafari
_Raphael Li
_Crystal Khaja
_Yin Teng Chin
_Scarlett Rogers
_Rita Aziz
_Mitchell Moxey
_Minh Triet Tran
_Ngoc Khanh Pham
_Khaled Dababneh
_Kent Kien Phuoc Ngo
_Ling Kit Cheung
_Rui Hang Yong
_Michael A. Kindica
_Xueying Wang