The Generative Design Pavilion, unveiled at Autodesk University 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada, showcased novel workflows in computational design and fabrication techniques.
Designed by Autodesk and fabricated by Quarra Stone Company and University of Michigan Assistant Professor of Architecture Sean Ahlquist, the Generative Design Pavilion represents innovative design, structural optimization, and an iterative design to fabrication process of unlike materials – stone and fabric.
Analytical simulations were used to determine the stresses that emerge within the stone bench under a given design load. Image courtesy of Simpson, Gumpertz, and Heger Engineering.
Physical tests were conducted in order to understand the breaking point and internal stresses of the GFRP stone reinforcement strategy. Image courtesy of Simpson, Gumpertz, and Heger Engineering
A detail view of the bench showing the inlaid glass pultruded rods which act as tensile reinforcement.
The canopy was built as a series of lightweight tensile CNC knitted textile panels made of fine nylon-elastic yarns. Fabricated on a Stoll CMS 822 HP knitting machine, the panels were custom designed using an iterative workflow that combined digital simulations and physical mockups.
Detail photo of the custom CNC knitted nylon-elastic fabric. Photo courtesy of Stebs Schinnerer.
A Stoll CMS 822 HP knitting machine was used to fabricate the lightweight tensile canopy of the Generative Design Pavilion. Photo courtesy of Stebs Schinnerer.
An exploded axon of the column connection detail.
Autodesk, Inc.
Adam Allard, Fabrication Consultant
Michael Dewberry, Lighting Design and Simulation
Lucas Ewing, Fabrication
Adrian Finch, Marketing
Daniel Foisy, Exhibit Hall Lead Technical Director
Laura Gardner, Marketing and Booth Coordinator
Matt Jezyk, Project Coordinator
Craig Long, Fabrication
Jose Luis Garcia del Castillo Lopez, Lighting Design and Engineering
Andy Payne, Lead Designer and Project Manager
Taylor Tobin, Fabrication Consultant
Dan Vandewoestyne, CNC Milling Consultant
Quarra Stone Company
James Durham, President
Eduardo Banderas, Shipping and Logistics
Lincoln Durham, Shipping and Logistics
Eric Kudrna, Stone Handwork
Alex Marshall, Fabrication Consultant
Frank Meier, CNC Fabrication
Alireza Seyedahmadian, Project Manager, Robotic Fabrication & Engineering
Brian Smith, Robotic Fabrication & Engineering
University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Sean Ahlquist, Textile Design and Engineering
Disha Sharmin, Simulation and CNC Knit ProgrammingAdam Wang, CNC Knit Programming and Textile Fabrication
Florence Warner, Textile Fabrication
Simpson Gumpertz and Heger Engineering
Chris Coakley, Structural Engineering
Paul Kassabian, Principal Structural Engineer
Juhun Lee Structural Engineering and Simulation
Gustavo Tumialan, Structural Engineering and FRP Reinforcement Design
Paper Fortress
Stebs Schinnerer, Videographer