CumInCAD is a Cumulative Index about publications in Computer Aided Architectural Design supported by the sibling associations ACADIA, CAADRIA, eCAADe, SIGraDi, ASCAAD and CAAD futures
The focus of this project was to design a ceiling system within a new Materials Resource Center in the Architecture Building that would embody the potential of parametric design and digital fabrication to rethink a generic interior architectural system. The instructors and students in a combined design studio and digital fabrication seminar developed a Ceiling Cloud that clips on to a modified suspended ceiling grid using lightweight folded aluminum panels that are designed to incrementally change dimension and drape into the space below. Constraints and variables within the parametric models allowed for the optimization and extraction of 150 unique panels that are also perforated with their own individual pattern. The variations in the folded surface disburse and dissipate sound through refraction and absorption created by the corrugation in the panels and their perforation. The holes are also calibrated as a gradient to allow more light to penetrate in the center of the space away from the perimeter walls. The project was prototyped by the students as the College of Architecture and partially realized with the help of industrial partners in Houston. The studio was co-directed with Visiting Critic Scott Marble who provided a framework to conduct the studio’s exploration and several successful projects as precedent.