Slate vault
Lokhandwala, 2018 Concept, Design & Engineering : ECHOES.PARIS
Student: Zaheed Lokhandwala
Professional Tutor: Sébastien Perrault – ECHOES.PARIS
Academic Tutor: Oliver Baverel – ENPC NAVIER
Date : 2017-2018
Non-standard tiles of slate stone salvaged from roofs of buildings are extremely seasoned due to weathering processes that chip away the weaker bits of foliated rock but are highly variable in their geometry in an unprocessed state. With so much current attention being focused on free-form geometries and procedural methods for vaulting, this paper proposes a translation of building with found materials into a digital process whereby the waste pieces of slate stone are scanned and a database is established wherein the found-forms of slate stone are catalogued and digital representations of the same are created. Organizing the found forms, explores the nesting and consequent stacking of the pieces together thus defining a boundary surface. The boundary surface is subjected to a form finding process using the particle-spring system giving rise to a funicular form. The pieces are then oriented from the boundary surface onto the funicular form without any overlap. The relationship of one piece to another is explored by means of milled timber connections in the form of a structural arrangement by triangulating the axes of connections using the centers of each individual piece of slate stone ensuring rigidity of the structure. Assembly of the prototype discusses ways in which these complex materials are brought together – informed by a 3D model, but performed manually. The resulting prototype shell structure is composed of randomly shaped planar pieces of stone connected to each other with wood joints. This exciting potential of architecture developed from a unique interaction of used materials with new technologies and traditional craftsmanship suggests that future application and research in reusing construction waste can be a sustainable as well as a pragmatic design approach.
