Abstract
This chapter is a take on contemporary works in wood seen from two different points of view: academic and professional. The knowledge about digital wood developed at different universities through Digital Fabrication Laboratories and, when teaching architecture, it has proved to be effective but with certain limitations when used for real constructions. In fact, translating the freedom of building temporary architectures—which is usually one of the prerogatives of teaching architecture during design studio or workshops—into wood architecture that respect all the constraints of real construction is a challenge. Parametric design is essential to control process and final output. There are several aspects such as building codes, costs, certifications, durability and expertise which have a strong impact on the feasibility and final output of digital wood architecture. This chapter shows several experiences where innovative ideas developed through research have been applied both to temporary pavilions and real constructions in Japan, Italy and France. Two tea houses, a pavilion for archeologists, a façade for a recreational youth center, a modular furniture system customisable online and the interior design of the media library of the Quai Branly Museum in Paris will be discussed. Integrating research into practice is a way to try to make better buildings, that are appropriate to their users, clients, context and time.
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Notes
- 1.
Cyril Stanley Smith as early as the 1980s believed that aesthetic curiosity was key to both genetic and cultural evolution. Without aesthetic curiosity, maybe we wouldn’t have survived at all, or we’d still be back in the stone age. For the emeritus professor in Science of Materials at MIT, many of man’s inventions have appeared in decorative applications: the wheel, for example, first appeared in decorative jewellery and children’s toys. Smith proves that innovation and discovery are not born under the pressure of need and that aesthetics takes the lead from function.
- 2.
Shoji is a vertical screen, typically composed of Japanese washi chapter stretched over delicate wooden frame.
- 3.
Nijiri-guchi refers to a small entryway specific to the tea house, approximately 60 cm in both height and width. The tightness of the opening makes the guest crawl through with his or her head down.
- 4.
Tokonoma, a small recessed alcove within a room where guests are received, is where flower arrangement and hanging scroll are commonly displayed.
- 5.
The office LAPS Architecture was in charge of the organization of the workshop.
- 6.
ATEx is the acronym of “Appreciation Technique d’Experimentation”. It is a quick technical evaluation procedure formulated by a group of experts on any product, process or equipment not yet the subject of a technical certification and whose development requires experimental use on one or more sites. There are three classes of ATEX according to the degree of innovation.
- 7.
Siteweb de la Ville De Canteleu http://www.ville-canteleu.fr/.
- 8.
Jean Nouvel’s writings on the Quai Branly Museum helps to understand the design concept: “It is a museum built around a collection. Where everything is done to bring to light the emergence of the emotion carried by the “first object”; where everything is done, at the same time, to protect it from the light and to capture the rare ray of sun indispensable to the vibration, to the installation of spiritualities. It is a place marked by the symbols of the forest, the river, and the obsessions of death and oblivion. It is a busy, inhabited place, one where the ancestral spirits of men meet who, discovering the human condition, invent gods and beliefs. It's a unique and strange place. Poetic and disturbing. Building it can only be done by challenging the expression of our current Western contingencies. Eliminate the structures, the pipes, the “joineries” of facade, the emergency stairs, the railings, the false ceilings, the projectors, the bases, the showcases… If their function must remain at least that they disappear from our sight and our consciousness, that they fade before the sacred objects to authorize communion with the holy. (…) Only the result counts: the material at times seems to disappear, one has the impression that the museum is a simple shelter without facade, in a forest. When dematerialization meets the expression of signs, it becomes selective.”
- 9.
Amaranth is an extremely dense and water-resistant wood. It is ranked as one of the hardest and stiffest of the woods in the world. It is so durable that it can be used in applications that require toughness, such as truck decking. The trees are prized for their beautiful heartwood which, when cut, quickly turns from a light brown to a rich purple color. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light darkens the wood to a brown color with a slight hue of the original purple. This effect can be minimized with a finish containing a UV inhibitor.
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Acknowledgements
I am deeply grateful to Sarah Beal for making it all richer in many several ways.
I am in debt with Kengo Kuma for revealing to me a world of ideas and for showing me the tools for making them real.
I am grateful to Fabienne Louyot, my work associate for researching and practising architecture together.
Parts of Paragraph 4 were published in the following paper: Ko, K., Liotta, S. (2011), Decoding Culture Parametrically: Tea House Case Studies, International Journal of Architectural Computing (IJAC), issue 04, volume 9, Dec. 2011. pp. 325–338 Parts of Paragraph 5 were published in the following paper: Imperadori, M. Liotta, S. et al. (2015), New Architectural solutions for Archeological sites. “Bio-based and Bio-inspired Environmentally Compatible Structures” by the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), Tokyo, 2015 Parts of Paragraph 7 were published on the following paper Liotta, S. 2016, Using a pattern as a 3D generator for producing a modular and flexible system for architecture in “Chanllenges For Technology Innovation - An Agenda for the Future”, Taylor & Francis.
Credits workshop Digital Tea House
Instructors: Philip Anzalone, Toru Hasegawa, Brigette Borders (GSAPP Columbia University); Kengo Kuma, Yusuke Obuchi, Tomohiro Tachi, Salvator-John Liotta, Kaon Ko, Yoshii Nahoko (University of Tokyo); Keisuke Toyoda, Yusuke Oono, Motoki Yamamoto, Alex Knezo (Noiz Architects) Participants: Taichi Kuma, Anna Braverman, Kazami Furukawa, Akinori Hamada, Yuta Ito, Nikola Nikolovski, Hiroyuki Tanaka “Nami-no-Ma”; Tan Toon Cheng, David Jenny, Taichi Kuma, Reiko Nishiyama, Shuhei Tanaka, Haruka Tomoeda, Cui Xuan, “130008252010”. Images credits: Taichi Kuma, Yuta Ito, Alessio Guarino.
Credits workshop Architecture x Archeology
Instructors: Marco Imperadori, Andrea Vanossi (Milan Politecnico), Salvator-John A. Liotta, Yuta Ito (University of Tokyo) Fausta Occhipinti (Associazione Giardini in Campo) Students: Eugene Kiang, Kaoru Yamaoka, Kosuke Nakakura, Salvatore Vinciguerra, Luisa Lo Faro, Antonio Carmisano, Tommaso D’Angelo, Michele Piccolo, Federico Macedonio, Marina Tedesco. Scientific Advisors: Kengo Kuma, Marco Imperadori, Salvator-John A. Liotta, Jun Sato. Organization: LAPS Architecture, Paris.
Credits X.me project:
X.me System Design: LAPS Architecture, Salvator-John A. Liotta, Fabienne Louyot
Product Engineering: MYOP s.r.l. Riccardo Scibetta
Credits Recreational Youth Center:
Architectural Design: LAPS Architecture, Salvator-John A. Liotta, Fabienne Louyot
Credits Media Library Quai Branly:
Architectural Design: LAPS Architecture, Salvator-John A. Liotta, Fabienne Louyot
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Liotta, SJ.A. (2019). Experimenting the Use of Wood in Contemporary Architecture: Integrating Research into Practice. In: Bianconi, F., Filippucci, M. (eds) Digital Wood Design. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03676-8_53
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