Floating Forum
Kramer, M. 2023. Floating Forum. University of Westminster. https://doi.org/10.34737/x8qz5
| Title | Floating Forum |
|---|---|
| Creators | Kramer, M. |
| Description | University of Westminster staff and students, led by Maria Kramer, co-designed and co- developed the QHT funded ‘The Floating Forum’. Expanding on architectural education, students from the MArch DS20 studio co-designed and co-constructed the pavilion from the conception, briefing and making in collaboration with WebbYates Engineers and Nicholas Alexander and as part of the Live Design Practice. The Live Design Practice introduces innovative ways of working collaboratively across sectors, leveraging our multidisciplinary skills within academia for real interventions for the benefit of communities. The structure sits on reclaimed pontoons and is constructed from cedar timber with modular light weight hessian panels treated with gypsum and acrylic resin that have been prefabricated using the principle developed by the engineer Heinz Isler using flexible textiles. Allowing the fabric to hang downward under gravity, results in shapes which are naturally efficient as the hanging structure because it is in pure tension under gravity and did not resist any bending. We explored new techniques based on manipulating materials to understand their innate properties and environmental properties to develop an architecture that embodies the fluidity of the world, where borders are not rigid divisions but dynamic, responsive membranes. Leveraging gravity creates forms that are in pure tension, naturally efficient and structurally sound. The timber structure is made out of cedar and sits on a reclaimed pontoon. “Embodied knowledge challenges the traditional view of knowledge as purely mental and abstract. It highlights the inseparable connection between the body, the mind, and the environment in shaping how we learn, perceive, and understand the world.” Maria Kramer Louis Kahn, used to tell his students: “If you are ever stuck for inspiration, ask your materials.” |
| Keywords | Live Project, Knowledge Exchange, Authentic Learning, Action Research, Prototyping, Convivial Construction |
| Year | 31 Oct 2023 |
| 30 Apr 2024 | |
| Files | Image credit Simon Meyers, Maria Kramer |
| Project | Live Project |
| Funder | Quentin Hogg Trust |
| Web address (URL) | http://www.openstudiowestminster.org/beyond-studio/live-design-practice/the-floating-hide/ |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.34737/x8qz5 |
