Microtherme of voluptuous concrete. Microtherme by Matter Design
24/08/2017.
A Condensed Concrete Spa [Boston, MA] USA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
In Bigger than a Breadbox, Smaller than a Building, in BSA Space. The exhibition explored the power of architectural installations by featuring works by architects and designers who use this medium to test new technologies and building techniques, while executed pieces that were both sculptural and visually arresting. The exhibition presented physical examples and was curated by Rob Trumbour AIA and Aaron Willette of the design/research practice Khôra LLC.
En Bigger than a Breadbox, Smaller than a Building / Más grande que una caja de pan, Más pequeño que un edificio, en la galería de BSA. La exposición exploró el poder de las instalaciones arquitectónicas con obras de arquitectos y diseñadores que utilizan este medio para probar nuevas tecnologías y técnicas de construcción, mientras ejecutaban piezas escultóricas y visualmente atractivas. La exposición presentó ejemplos físicos y fue comisariada por Rob Trumbour AIA y Aaron Willette del estudio de diseño / investigación Khôra LLC.
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Sections. Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Microtherme by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee. Image courtesy of Matter Design
Matter Design produced an intimate and contradictory set of experiences in Microtherme. Upon approach, the occupant is confronted by a hovering wooden mass punctured by a singular and limited port enticing curiosity about the interior. Once under the wooden mass, a concrete world is revealed and rendered elastically. From this vantage point, other people occupying the space appear to be draped in a concrete fabric, producing the experience that the people themselves are supporting this engulfing mass. Once standing, this rhetoric inverts as if the occupants are pulling the concrete down. This voluptuous concrete performs beyond this optical illusion. It is also radiating a variety of temperatures producing a variety of thermal experiences for the occupants. While the lower experience is similar to one of sun bathing, the upper level experience is one of swimming in a concrete bath.
Description of project by Matter Design
Architecture exists at the confluence of form, material, environment, and structure. While this odd set of bedfellows informs architecture, this overlay produces an experience for the occupant. Microtherme is a condensation of thermal and sensorial experiences that produces contradictions of conventional notions of comfort. Sitting adjacent to a burning fire on a cold night is a known comfortable experience, yet it does not fall within the ASHRAE standards of the ‘Thermal Comfort Zone’—a rather narrow definition that assumes continuity over difference. The human body is capable of, if not excited by, thermal extremities. In the conception of the Roman bath complex, occupants move from extremity (caldarium) to extremity (frigidarium), managing their own thermal delight. As opposed to a liquid bath, Microtherme is a radiant one that co-mingles extremities into singular thermal contradictions. It frames the occupant's experiences from the act of rolling under a monolithic object to standing up inside the bath, the occupant is confronted with another world inside, producing the illusion and thermal experience of wading in a bath of voluptuous concrete.
On Process
Microtherme is constructed from a machined mold of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam that is coated in a water based surfacing compound. This mold is cast by spraying Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) with a lining of copper tubing to allow warm and cool water to pass through in order to control the temperature of the concrete.
More information
Authors
Brandon Clifford & Wes McGee | Matter Design
Project Team
Myung Duk Chung \ Cody Glen \ Asa Peller \ Maya Shopova \ Tyler Swingle \ Luisel Zayas
Collaborators
Environmental.- Christoph Reinhart. Lighting.- Etta Dannemann. Structural
Matthew Johnson | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger.
Dates
The exhibit runs June 17, 2-15 through October 4, 2015.
Venue
Exhibition.- Bigger Than A Breadbox. BSA Space.
The Gallery is located at 290 Congress Street, Suite 200, Boston, MA 02210. USA
Size and materials
Size.- 7" X 8" X 8"
Material.- Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Baltic Birch Plywood
Acknowledgements
Fabrication support by the University of Michigan TCAUP FABLab and the MIT Rapid Prototyping Lab. This project is funded in part by the MIT Department of Architecture, the University of Michigan TCAUP FABLab, the Boston Society of Architects, Matter Design, and the SUTD-MIT International Design Centre (IDC).
Brandon Clifford, Wes McGee and Johanna (Jo) Lobdell. Matter Design
Matter Design is a design practice and research lab directed by Brandon Clifford with his partners Johanna Lobdell and Wes McGee. They produce work that is both playful and rigorous, leveraging alternative ways of thinking to reconsider the future of our built environment. Matter Design is recognized as an influential design practice with awards such as MoMA Young Architects Program finalists, the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, the Design Biennial Boston award, AZ awards, AIA Small Projects Award, BSA Honor Award, a Rome Prize, a TED Fellowship, and others.
Brandon Clifford is the director and co-founder of Matter Design. He is also an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brandon received his Master of Architecture from Princeton University and his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Georgia Tech. He was the LeFevre Fellow at The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture. Brandon is a designer and researcher who has received recognition with prizes such as the American Academy in Rome Prize, a TED Fellowship, the SOM Prize, the Design Biennial Boston Award, and the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects & Designers. His most recent authored work ‘The Cannibal’s Cookbook’ demonstrates his dedication to bringing ancient knowledge into contemporary practice with theatrical captivation. His work at Matter Design is focused on advancing architectural research through spectacle and mysticism. He is best known for captivating new ideas by critically evaluating ancient ways of thinking and experimenting with their value today. This work ranges from an award-winning play structure for kids to megalithic sculptures that come to life to perform tasks. Brandon is dedicated to re-imagining the role of the architect. His speculative work continues to provoke new directions for design in the digital era.
Johanna (Jo) Lobdell is a partner of Matter Design. Her work brings access to the design research being done at Matter Design through multi-media such as publications, exhibitions, murals, and environmental experiences. Jo’s work operates at the intersection of art and design, focusing on color, patterns, and graphics in relation to 3d form. Her primary objective is to create environments that communicate through the use of attraction. Jo received her education in Graphic Design and Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design and Lesley University College of Art and Design. She is driven to bring inspiration and joy to the world through the lens of design.
Wes McGee is co-founder and partner of Matter Design, and an assistant professor of Architecture and director of the Fabrication Lab at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. His work revolves around the interrogation of material performance, with a research and teaching agenda focused on developing new connections between design, engineering, materials, and manufacturing processes as they relate to the built environment through the creation of customized software and hardware tools. With the goal of seamlessly integrating fabrication constraints with design intent, the work spans multiple realms, including algorithmic design, computational feedback of material properties, and the development of novel production processes which utilize industrial robots as bespoken machines of architectural production.
Wes frequently presents work at national and international conferences on design and fabrication, and the work of Matter Design was recently featured in the book “PostDigital Artisans” by Jonathan Openshaw (Frame publishers), as well as “Next Progressives” in Architect Magazine. In 2014 he was the co-chair of the Robots in Architecture Conference, and most recently one of the chairs of the 2016 ACADIA conference.
Brandon Clifford is the director and co-founder of Matter Design. He is also an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Brandon received his Master of Architecture from Princeton University and his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Georgia Tech. He was the LeFevre Fellow at The Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture. Brandon is a designer and researcher who has received recognition with prizes such as the American Academy in Rome Prize, a TED Fellowship, the SOM Prize, the Design Biennial Boston Award, and the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects & Designers. His most recent authored work ‘The Cannibal’s Cookbook’ demonstrates his dedication to bringing ancient knowledge into contemporary practice with theatrical captivation. His work at Matter Design is focused on advancing architectural research through spectacle and mysticism. He is best known for captivating new ideas by critically evaluating ancient ways of thinking and experimenting with their value today. This work ranges from an award-winning play structure for kids to megalithic sculptures that come to life to perform tasks. Brandon is dedicated to re-imagining the role of the architect. His speculative work continues to provoke new directions for design in the digital era.
Johanna (Jo) Lobdell is a partner of Matter Design. Her work brings access to the design research being done at Matter Design through multi-media such as publications, exhibitions, murals, and environmental experiences. Jo’s work operates at the intersection of art and design, focusing on color, patterns, and graphics in relation to 3d form. Her primary objective is to create environments that communicate through the use of attraction. Jo received her education in Graphic Design and Fine Arts from Parsons School of Design and Lesley University College of Art and Design. She is driven to bring inspiration and joy to the world through the lens of design.
Wes McGee is co-founder and partner of Matter Design, and an assistant professor of Architecture and director of the Fabrication Lab at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. His work revolves around the interrogation of material performance, with a research and teaching agenda focused on developing new connections between design, engineering, materials, and manufacturing processes as they relate to the built environment through the creation of customized software and hardware tools. With the goal of seamlessly integrating fabrication constraints with design intent, the work spans multiple realms, including algorithmic design, computational feedback of material properties, and the development of novel production processes which utilize industrial robots as bespoken machines of architectural production.
Wes frequently presents work at national and international conferences on design and fabrication, and the work of Matter Design was recently featured in the book “PostDigital Artisans” by Jonathan Openshaw (Frame publishers), as well as “Next Progressives” in Architect Magazine. In 2014 he was the co-chair of the Robots in Architecture Conference, and most recently one of the chairs of the 2016 ACADIA conference.
