Arbor Link

Design Work · FABRICATION

Arbor Link

Skeletal framework softening brutalism through material and movement

Type / Category
Academic
Semester + Year
Fall 2024
Course Name
Digital Fabrication Studio
Tags
Undergrad

A site-specific CNC-fabricated seating intervention for Dudley Courtyard — drawing structural logic from wasp nest geometry and moving iteratively between analog sketching, Grasshopper parametric modeling, and hands-on fabrication to produce a dual-sided form that softens the courtyard's angular brutalist environment.

Installed piece photographed alone in Dudley Courtyard, full form visible — high curved back, splayed legs, and laminated plywood slats casting sharp shadows across pavement.
Installed piece photographed alone in Dudley Courtyard, full form visible — high curved back, splayed legs, and laminated plywood slats casting sharp shadows across pavement.
Close detail of the laminated plywood base reveals layered grain depth, CNC-cut curvature, and the rhythmic slit pattern running through each structural member.
Close detail of the laminated plywood base reveals layered grain depth, CNC-cut curvature, and the rhythmic slit pattern running through each structural member.
Hand sketches and annotated studies develop the modular seating logic, material layering strategy, and curved back geometry across multiple joinery configurations.
Hand sketches and annotated studies develop the modular seating logic, material layering strategy, and curved back geometry across multiple joinery configurations.
Grasshopper contour model renders the full seating form as a dense field of parallel section cuts, revealing how digital slicing translated surface curvature into fabricable layers.
Grasshopper contour model renders the full seating form as a dense field of parallel section cuts, revealing how digital slicing translated surface curvature into fabricable layers.
CNC-cut plywood components laid out flat before assembly — light and dark stained pieces grouped by section type and structural role.
CNC-cut plywood components laid out flat before assembly — light and dark stained pieces grouped by section type and structural role.
Side-by-side exploded axonometrics show grey-scale and wood-tone material variations, clarifying how individual curved members interlock to form the complete chair assembly.
Side-by-side exploded axonometrics show grey-scale and wood-tone material variations, clarifying how individual curved members interlock to form the complete chair assembly.
Three-photo fabrication sequence documents CNC routing on the ShopSabre, freshly cut components laid out on the shop floor, and glue lamination under clamp pressure.
Three-photo fabrication sequence documents CNC routing on the ShopSabre, freshly cut components laid out on the shop floor, and glue lamination under clamp pressure.
Annie assembles stacked plywood layers at the workbench, applying glue between CNC-cut sections with dowel registration pins holding alignment during lamination.
Annie assembles stacked plywood layers at the workbench, applying glue between CNC-cut sections with dowel registration pins holding alignment during lamination.

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