i.M.A.D.E encourages design students to focus on the creation of unique prototypes based on material interrogations and market viability. Students are actively developing business plans and exploring commercial outlets for design prototypes based on emphasizing the production of ready-made, yet customizable products. Indiana has a long tradition of producing hardwood veneer from regionally harvested trees. Made of Indiana Hardwood veneer, the “Bodhi Tree” highlights some of the more subtle properties of hardwood. The thinness of veneer allows wood to bend, twist, and glow—revealing latent and innate qualities of thinly sliced wood. These qualities are exploited in projects that reveal the “light/lighter” qualities of this typically “heavy” material.

Using a hand-assembled notch/slip joint system, the “Bodhi Tree” was formed from self-similar laser cut veneer components with no hardware. The curvature and tension of twisting the veneer strengthened each unit to form a stable and resilient lattice. The overall assembly and geometry resulted from a self-organized form-finding experiment, which led to the creation of gradients of variegated densities, strengths, and geometries of light-catching surfaces. The resulting mesh was used to define space and filter light in an otherwise stark interior environment.

Faculty:
Steven Deters; Lecturer, UCLA +  Fall 2008 i.M.A.D.E Fellow
Kevin Klinger

Student Team:
Deepak Baniya
Elizabeth Boone
Eric Brockmeyer
Adam Buente
Dustin Headley
Kyle Perry
Priyanshu Shrivastava

Partners:
David R. Webb Company
Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association

i.M.A.D.E encourages design students to focus on the creation of unique prototypes based on material interrogations and market viability. Students are actively developing business plans and exploring commercial outlets for design prototypes based on emphasizing the production of ready-made, yet customizable products. Indiana has a long tradition of producing hardwood veneer from regionally harvested trees. Made of Indiana Hardwood veneer, “Luminaires” is one such pilot project with potential for commercial spin-out, as the project highlights some of the more subtle properties of hardwood. The thinness of veneer allows wood to bend, twist, and glow—revealing latent and innate qualities of thinly sliced wood. These qualities are exploited in projects that reveal the “light/lighter” qualities of this typically “heavy” material.

Described by a fully-parametric digital model, the shape and proportions of the “Luminaire” can be easily customized, with precision laser-cut veneer components. These components are coated in polyacrylic and assembled by hand using notching and slip joints. The detailing of the slip joints was inherent in the design development, such that no hardware is necessary, and anyone can assemble the final form. Once linked to a web interface, the product of the design can be uniquely customized by consumers and shipped flat-packed.

Student Designer:
Eric Brockmeyer

Various Student Production Teams:
Eric Laine (IHLA Showroom)
Mark VanderAkker (IHLA Showroom)
Ben Greenberg (Spot on Schools Exhibition)
Greg Hittler (Spot on Schools Exhibition)
Austin Lucari (Spot on Schools Exhibition)

Faculty:
Kevin Klinger
Joshua Vermillion

Partners:
David R. Webb Company
Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association

The latest hardwood veneer Luminaire prototypes were exhibited at the Tech Point 2009 Innovation Summit.

Students:
Eric Brockmeyer
Kyle Perry
Austin Lucari
Rudy Arroyo
Ariel Aurellano

Partners:
Tech Point Indiana
Indiana Hardwood Lumbermens Association
David R Webb Co.

The Manufacturing Material Effects Exhibition, at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, framed and displayed the design and material production work of leading international designers and fabricators who participated in the Manufacturing Material Effect international symposium, and subsequent book release from Routledge Press. Designed, fabricated, and installed by a design studio working closely with industry partners from local wood, aluminum, limestone, and plastics industries, the exhibition closely examined collaborative design and production practices from around the globe based on innovative and experimental processes of material exploration.

Each component of the exhibition display system was custom designed and fabricated. A digitally-fabricated plywood armature system was developed and optimized for efficient nesting, fabrication, and shipping in order to minimize material waste. Rear-illuminated acrylic panels were vacuum formed over CNC-milled wood patterns in close collaboration with a local plastics manufacturer. All connections and joints were facilitated by custom designed and laser cut aluminum clips. Digital files were exchanged with local limestone industry partners for the 3 axis CNC production of stone bases. Full-scale mock-ups facilitated the choreography of the vacuum forming process and connection details.

In order to test lighting effects, the studio deployed a variety of methods—both, computationally, and physically. Entire armature bays were fabricated at full-scale with lighting and wiring in order to optimize the lighting design. Simultaneously, the studio simulated the overall lighting effects using photometric light renderings and false-color illuminance studies. This coupling of digital and physical outputs allowed students to understand the successes and failures in both the design and analysis techniques.

The exhibition project was assembled and installed by the student team, using a coding system for identifying each unique component. Additionally, an interactive, touch-screen informational kiosk was developed and installed by Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts. The design process was richly enhanced by actively engaging and participating with the manufacturing process, along with the vetting of design schemes by industry partners, which led to a design process that was truly informed by production, cost, and material considerations, and fostering an innovative collaborative relationship between design and making.

Student Team:
Amber Agan
Matt Amore
Elizabeth Boone
Adam Buente
Lena Dodson
Brandon Hoopingarner
Joe Intriago
Adam James
Kyle Perry
Ross Smith
Rob Thompson

Faculty:
Kevin Klinger
Joshua Vermillion

Partners:
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts
Arrowhead Plastic Engineering
Indiana Limestone Fabricators
Mid-West Metal Products
Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association
David R. Webb Company
Amos-Hill Associates
Ball State Digital Corps
Laird Plastics

Process Photos

The Calibration Channel provides a seating-platform to channel the river sounds in a manner that small groups and individuals can undergo sensory calibration. Primary structural ribs, digitally defined from the simulation models, contour an interior skin, which acts as a secondary structural element.

The skin creates a smoother surface to better accommodate acoustics. The structure rests on digitally modeled and CNC-milled Indiana Limestone bases, shedding water away from the wood surfaces. In order to maximize usage of donated red oak and ash, a digital index was established to catalog and organize each board. Since each component had been digitally nested upon a digitized board, slight adjustments in data allowed us to directly output that information to the CNC mill. As a result of such proficient data transference, we were able to focus in on variations of details.

The 180 skin boards were cut from the remaining hardwood.  An environmentally friendly treatment was applied to the rib and skin components. The installation was erected in roughly one week, with very few modifications to the pre-fabricated components. As an instrument, the Calibration Channel becomes a threshold for individuals to realign their sensory energy to the sensitivities of the river. It serves as catalyst for a paradigm shift, away from shaping nature for the sake of humanity, and towards shaping humanity for the sake of nature.

Calibration Channel Team:
Robert Beach, Austin Durbin, Melissa Funkey, Jori Garcia, Robert Horner, Anne Jeffs Cupp, Katie Marinaro, Christopher Peli, Josh Reitz, Chelsea Wait

Faculty:
Kevin Klinger
Director, Institute for Digital Fabrication
Associate Professor of Architecture

The Calibration Channel was generously supported by the following Industry Partners:
Indiana Hardwood Lumberman’s Association, Frank Miller Lumber, Indiana Limestone Fabricators, Big Creek Quarry, Mounds State Park

Partnering Campus Units:
Virginia Ball Center, College of Architecture + Planning

External Funding from Industry Partners: $18000 in Materials, Fabrication, and Shipping