Sketch Problem 1

SKETCH PROBLEM 1: Improvisational Shelter Part I
Assigned: April 3
Due: Pinup, April 12,2023 (in studio small groups at a time)

D R A F T

Desk Crits 4.5.23, 4.10.23, Small Group Pinups With Sailmaker Kendal Blake 5.12.23

Above image: modeling exercise, rapid shelter studio mentoring middle school students, Chewonki Foundation, Maine,  E. Mark Photo, 2016.

OBJECTIVE

Imagine you are within a forcibly displaced community suffering from hypothermia.  You are handed fabric connectors, bendable PVC pipe, and fabric and asked to make your own shelter. A cold wind is about to move in from the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon Coast. You have less than a day to get under cover. Make a roughly 100 square foot fabric structure for four overnight lodgers. Produce two different schemes. This is in part based upon a true story.[1]

PEDAGOGY

By trying to solve this design exercise without having much experience in fabric structures, you will likely encounter difficulties in making the shelter stand up.  However, the insights you may gain by struggling to come up with a solution now may give you more insight into some of the kinds of solutions we will look at afterwards. For now, see where your intuition takes you.

MATERIALS

Note that the jewelry kit items described below will be provided the first week of the studio and are funded through a research grant. Fabric materials will also be donated. In general, the simplest way to explore this assignment, and that will likely be useful for future ones, is to acquire cheap two way stretch fabric (as cheap as you can find), jewelry kit connectors, bendable wire,  model scale steel or wooden dowels for creating some structures. You will need to obtain a basic needle and thread sewing kit such as you use for restoring a button on a shirt. This is the same as a small needle and thread packet often given as a complimentary item by a hotel. For exercises over the longer term of the spring quarter, these materials can can found locally in Eugene at Michaels Arts and Crafts Store and at Joann Fabric and Crafts or on amazon.com. Create a base for anchoring the structure. For example, the base can be made of plywood or substitute board with a few drilled holes.

As an alternative, the plywood wood bases in figure 1 were modified with holes created by a laser cutter in a previous studio. The grid of holes allows flexibility in how different test models are anchored. Note also that not all plywood is suitable for use with a laser cutter, and not all laser cutters are suitable for cutting plywood. Before attempting to do this, it would be best to check on the acceptable list of materials identified within the illustrator template file provided for laser cutters in the architecture department woodshop.  Discuss compatibility questions with the shop manager. Access to the lasers can be scheduled online at: https://designtech.uoregon.edu/woodshops/lawrence-hall-woodshop/.

Training for those interested can also be arranged for the studio as a whole or individually through contact with the shop manager. Collaboration on this optional laser cutter method within the studio is also permissible.

 
Figure 1. models from jewelry connectors, bendable wire, dowels, wood base with drilled holes, rapid shelter studio, E. Mark Photo, 2016

 Paxcoo Kit  Crimp 
Lobster Clasps & Jump Rings  Necklace Ring Clasps
Magnetic & Lobster Clasp Combination  Lobster Clasp & Rotating Jump Ring
Mini Lobster Clasps  Lobster Clasps with Swivel Rings

Figure 2. Types of jewelry kit elements, varied types of clasps, connectors and a crimp that you can purchase from Michaels, Amazon, and other retailers. Typically you can find a kit that has some combination of the above, and also single type connector purchases.  Other type connectors may be useful. Above images are from amazon.com. An initial set of these elements has already been ordered for the first week and is funded by studio.

INCLUDE

  • One entrance/exit
  • Operable openings for fresh air and natural light.
  • Four places for sleeping.
  • Four raised surfaces for dining/writing
  • Natural lighting & minimal artificial lighting if any.
  • Innovative anchorage system that will weigh down the structure agains high wind.

EXCLUDE:

  • Washing or WC facilities.
  • Slab, flooring or foundation.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Explore the structure at anywhere from ¼” up to 1” scale (i.e., ½” = 1’).
  • Primary requirement:
    • Investigate structure primarily in physical model form
    • Describe hardware and materials used (e.g., bamboo, architecture fabric, etc.).
  • Secondary requirement:
    • Computer rendering or hand-sketch showing at least one plan and one section with ground conditions. For 4.12.23, printout on 11” x 17” or greater size.

SCENARIOS

  • Eating/sleeping/meeting.
  • Warm day ventilation/cold day or night insulation.
  • Full retraction and unfurling of unit.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS:

  • Help each other with respect to sharing techniques.
  • Bring the structure to the field trip on April th and photograph or sketch its placement on one of the State Parks site (see Sketch Problem 2).

BACKGROUND READING:

See the article by Karin Huster, “Why Couldn’t My Ebola Treatment Center Save This Baby?”, Opinion Section, New York Times, January 30, 2019 (article is linked to bibliography).

[1]Prof. Tim Cunningham’s personal recollection in the field as a member of Nurses Without Borders, seminar talk, recalled a displaced community being given the bare essentials to construct a shelter while he and his colleagues attended to their life-threatening medical needs in a separate unit, 1.29.19, ARCH 5500/8500 Seminar: http://web.arch.virginia.edu/arch5500/RapidShelterDisplacedPeople/home.html