GHASSAN ALSERAYHI
 MSc. Arch, M. Arch, B. Arch, Assoc. SCE

ARCHITECT + EDUCATOR + RESEARCHER
PICK N’ PLACE
SOCIAL ‘MASHRABIYAH’


SUBJECT: ‘PRACTICUM’  
TYPE: DESIGN RESEARCH SEMINAR
INSTRUCTOR: CATIE NEWELL
DATE: 2022
This project utilizes the mid-size Kuka robots to explore clay extrusion as a means to construct a larger architectural system. In doing so, we move into additive processes which develop form through deposition techniques. Using the robot and the clay extruder we created custom and repeatable modules. In this project, the group focused on designing modules which can be stacked and aligned to form an assembly, in this case a wall assembly. Therefore, paying particular attention to the process and sequence used to make and assemble the modules is crucial. 

As designers and programmers, the group have control over the robot speed, the clay extruder speed, the deposition layer thickness, and the width of the extruder nozzle. The clay extruder does not build support material, the design proposals/ modules needed to be self-support as they extrude. Design decisions are driven by the behavior of the block system as it relates to natural light and air flow. Material waste, energy consumption, re-use/re-configuration, environmental inputs, and material and immaterial properties are all topics for discussion.

The act of annotating margins blurs the lines between reader and author, reminiscent of Roland Barthes’ concept of ‘The Death of the Author.’ In this space, the reader becomes a co-creator of meaning, challenging traditional notions of  authorial intent and textual authority.

Drawing parallels between marginal notes and marginalized societal voices yields deep insights. Marginal notes’ ability to redefine texts suggests significant potential in elevating marginalized topics and voices. This perspective prompts rethinking central themes in intellectual and social narratives. Embracing marginalia aligns with Thomas Kuhn’s paradigm shifts concept, challenging traditional prioritization logic and urging a reevaluation of importance in texts and society.

















         



















       





Design Development: Part to Whole Configuration

The design contains six main pieces that share the same 2D layout of their base, but they have different textures, heights, and slopes. These six parts are also combined with two other types of pieces that should juxtapose the main pieces as one unit in the wall with the other units, forming the pattern




 Studying the Solid-Void Relationship: Visual Effect

Part of developing the aesthetics of the work, considering the logic of assembly, is the solid-void relationship. Part of this development is to theoretically and conceptually interrogate the work by asking what is inside and what is outside, and why. Between the pointing and the hollow sides, this logic allows for the visual effect desired for spatial engagement where the wall delivers two distinct representations as it is seen from both sides. Thus, there is no distinction between which side is in and which is out. Although all the pieces share the same 2D layout, each and everyone of them has different heights, slopes, and textures. This provides the users with the opportunity of shaping their own pattern. Meaning, they write the roles of what the Mashrabiyah looks like as they will change the pattern with time by picking and placing the pieces to the wall.





















Although in both tests the geometry and the printing settings were the same, after adding the texture to the prototype (in the right image) the performance  and the behavior of the material is significantly different. Charactiristics and qualities including height and sagging versus straight slope affected by the scale of the texture programmed in the Grasshopper parameters.




Printing time: Apx 25 minutes
Drying/curing time: Apx 26 hours
Slope Angle: Apx 45 degrees
Sagging: only with smooth angles
Height: Apx 21 cm
Layer thikness:1.5 mm
Printing speed:1.2
Nozzle size: 0.04 cm
intervening during printing: no





As a way to address the problem of sagging that happens with the prototype with the texture applied to it (in the image on right), the printing speed was reduced to create thicker layer of printed clay, therefore, more stability and support for the layers. This solution wasn’t 100% suffecient in terms of printing with zero percentage of sagging, but it dramatically reduced it to the degree that it is barly noticable, and more importantly, the prototype structurally works.

 


Printing time: Apx 25
Drying/curing time: Apx 28
Slope Angle: Apx 50 degrees
Sagging: only with smooth angles
Height: Apx 19cm
Layer thikness:1.8 mm
Printing speed:0.9
Nozzle size: 0.04 cm
intervening during printing: yes




















OPERATION AND PROCEDURAL CONSTRAINTS
The modules were created out of a continuous extrusion of stoneware clay, therefore, desktop 3D printers were utilized for prototyping at a small scale. These prototypes were used to produce small modules to demonstrate the nature of the stacking, fit, connectivity and to create a scaled model of a more fully formed, larger assembly. One important feature/factor of this project was accounting for clay shrinkage during drying/firing. Thus, measuring and allowing for this shrinkage was considered in the design phase. Also, the group kept comparing the 3D model driving the robot with the wet clay piece produced as the process of extruding the pieces is going. As the pieces transition to fully dry, measuring again for multiple times was essintial in understanding the material behavior, but also in controlling the cap between digital design and fabrication. This process of 3D printing followed by bisque firing the dried clay pieces that were also measured after the process of bisque fire. 




One of the most fascinating moments in digital fabrication is the conversation of accuracy, error, and programming. During the studies and observations of working with this system, the team took careful considerations and measurements for material behavior and performance when comparing between what was designed/modeled on the computer and what was digitally fabricated. Processes took place after the clay printing, including the bisque fire phase, is crucial in understanding and predicting the material system and performance along with other factors such as geometry, assembly, and texture.