Abstract
“There is a sea change going on in the world of construction: the shift from assemblage to fusion. In material terms this translates into a shift from mechanical to chemical attachments. More simply, things are built without bolts, screws, nails, or pegs; instead, they are glued,” Greg Lynn. Adhesive bonds are used in building many things that are structurally robust and intended to weather the elements, like planes, cars, trains, and offshore oil rigs. In the construction industry, adhesives appear in wood construction (cross laminated timber, glulam beams, plywood); finishes (carpet, tile, roofing); and to some extent in fiber and other composite structures. This paper argues there are more opportunities to use adhesives in architecture, specifically in the area of structural metal skins. The study details a collaborative process between students and faculty in architecture and chemistry to formulate and test a custom-made adhesive at multiple scales ranging from extra-small test coupons to furniture to a small pavilion. It argues that the use of glue instead of welds or mechanical fasteners has advantages to project workflow, enabling greater fluidity between physical models, digital simulations and full-scale construction. The fluidity hinges on the ways seams are represented and constructed, and the capability of digital models to use appropriate parameters to describe breaks and overlaps in sheets of material.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Adhesives, Structural Skins, Digital Fabrication
