System concept and prototype: FabPod

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RESEARCH BACKGROUND: This research addresses three bodies of international research: (1) architectural design research into strategies for designing around performance criteria in early stage design through the integration digital simulation and transdiscipliary design teams; (2) architectural research into the potential of digital fabrication technologies to engage principals of mass customisation in manufacturing; and (3) acoustic research recognises the emergence of acoustic diffusion as a contribtuor to acoustic comfort. The resulting concept and prototype, 'FabPod,' was selected for competition and exhibition at the APPLIED Reseach through Fabrication International Competition, focusing on the exploration and implementation of computational fabrication. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: While signiificant research exists in each of these fields, there are few examples of the confluence of such a range of research to address architectural design. This project develops earlier research into acoustically performative wall panels into a system that can be readily manufactured as a system of hybrid components that is open to customisation of material and geometry. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The project was selected as one of four finalists in the TEX-FAB APPLIED competition, chosen by a jury of preeminent leaders in the field including Nader Tehrani, Andrew Kudless, Branko Kolarevic and Vlad Tenu. As a finalist, the concepts and a prototype were exhibited at the Californian College of the Arts, San Francisco, in conjunction with the annual ACADIA (Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture) conference. ACADIA is a leading international network of digital design researchers and professionals amd experts in the field of design computation. FabPod then travelled to the Tex Fab 4 exhibition and conference at the University of Texas at Arlington.