A(fin)ne is a research pavilion developed in research studio ARC 6801 H at Montreal University’s School of Architecture in Spring 2021 and assembled in September. It represents a minimal surface spanning two splines built from stripes of 1mm aluminum sheet. The novelty of the approach is that A(fin)ne is a structural self-supported skin. It blends fabrication and assembly strategy with structural reinforcement. First the surface stripes are grown on the base surface mesh loosely following the pattern of the stress lines computed for the object under self-weight. All stripe joining flaps are unified by a set of structural fins cut from 1.6 mm aluminum sheet. The fin geometry responds to the bending moment computed for the object under self-weight. Areas with high bending moments have significantly wider fins. Fins serve a construction purpose too as they keep under control the curvature of the surface under assembly.
A(fin)ne was built with support from AluQuebec, Industries B37 Montréal and The School of Architecture at University of Montréal.
Scroll down for more images.
