Bachelor Studio III 2017
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

Useless __
A Void

Construction, Material and Technology
Michelle Howardt, Luciano Parodi

Team
Leonie Link, Hans Nikolaus Schmidt, Sophia Stemshorn

A Void is a research based project, experimenting with woven wood constructions, used for grid-shells. Based on a weaving technique there was developed a concept and form for two halls for an exhibition centre in Großschönau, Austria. The characteristics of the hexagonal weave and the structural relation to the composition of honeycombs inspired the first woven vessels out of newspaper. Important topics have been continuity, discontinuity, a fluent, textile like space, the addition of the same form to create space and the use of pockets to stiffen the structure. This topics informed the design of the buildings, so that there have been developed two interweaving halls. Adapting to the strong geometry of the weave the design for the two needed halls is a gliding plane made out of woven modules. Dealing with thin woven elements, each module is created by a layering of woven panels, which are separated by spacer, similar to a framework. Each module is made out of as many layers as technically needed. Depending on the amount of layers, the construction varies between denser and more transparent areas. By the separating of one layer from another layer there is formed a space inside the hall, a pocket.