A long time in the making, and after a bit of a delay, we’ve re-launched the Point B site. We’re still getting some content together, so it’s a work in process, but we’re pretty damn happy with the way it turned out.
Many thanks to Alex Sokoloff, and Dan and Adam at Chips-NY for all their time and hard work in putting together a pretty kick-ass site.
Let us know what you think -> www.pointbdesign.com
Point B and modeLab have joined forces to host a Parametric Design to Fabrication Workshop to be held at the Point B studio April 3-4, 2010!
This workshop will provide participants the experience of taking a design from conception through parametric definition through to digital fabrication in an intensive and hands-on environment.
Over the course of two days, the workshop will involve iterative prototyping and associative design strategies capable of incorporating and embracing an array of material and fabrication constraints. Participants will explore and construct highly articulated material assemblies through computer-aided manufacturing, mold making, and casting. Attendance will be capped at 12 to provide each participant maximum dedicated time with instructors.
For more information, and to register for this workshop, please visit the modeLab website at:
Bentley, the software developers of GenerativeComponents parametric modeling software, recently published a case study on our D.Gallery project. Check out the Bentley site - we’re the third case study down, or directly link to the pdf here.
Some pics from our various endeavors in mold-making for different projects, mainly installations and mainly done by Brandon and Jon.
Josh Lobel, newly-named Director of b.Digi, has been invited to speak at KA Connect 2010 - a knowledge management conference for the AEC industry, in Chicago on April 8th and 9th, 2010.
Josh was also featured on a recent Knowledge Architecture blog post in relation to the KA Connect Conference.
Point B has been accepted to the Smart Geometry 2010 Conference in Barcelona this April. We will be participating in the “High Tech Design - Low Tech Construction” cluster.
Following are images of milled surfaces we have been working on over the past year. Many of these surfaces are generated by custom scripts that one of our alumni, Skylar Tibbits, wrote while he was working here, and that we have continued to develop.
To create surfaces like these the digital information generated often looks nothing like the physical output. The creation of these surfaces requires a process of thinking and doing that is based upon contextual constraints that are determined by filtering design intent through the available means and methods of physical production. In the cases presented here, we were studying the ability to emphasize the topographies possible while operating within less than 1″ thick materials. We feel that this way of working - employing digital design and fabrication technology as guide along a journey, rather than the destination, that is often lacking in design today - at least based on what we see going on in design schools and professional practice.
Note: All of these images are fabricated, physical objects. None of them are computer generated images.
We’re currently fabricating and installing the armature for the mesh in the Gallery. The armature and mesh form a doubly-curved surface from which artwork will be supported. While the digital models have provide a lot of important information for the fabrication of individual armature and mesh components, we have also put the models to use to generate information we are using for the assembly and on-site construction.
The gallery is nearing completion!
The enclosure and interiors have been completed and we are now working on installing the doubly-curved mesh surface which will act as the armature for much of the artwork.
Point b recently assisted Click Architecture with the fabrication of their winning entry, “Movie Mobile”, in the Design Philadelphia [spot] competition. The collaborative process consisted of digital model refinement, surface curvature analysis, and the fabrication of the final installation using our CNC mill.
On Walnut Street
Point b recently had two objects on display at the Philly [heart] Design Exhibition, located at The Rotunda on The University of Pennsylvania’s campus. The event was curated by Jamie and Issac Salm of MIO, and Alexandra Schmidt-Ullrich. The show featured product, graphic, and interactive design in an immersive environment. We would like to thank Jamie, Issac, and Alexandra for their efforts in putting together a great exhibit for the city of Philadelphia!
b.Fab has been diligently working on the installation of Rainscreen 3 (RS3). b.Fab undertook the fabrication of a number of project components of the Dantchik gallery and addition, testing materials and assemblies, and using a digital and analogue toolkit. With the help of local Philadelphia craftsman Mike Cheron, we are near completion of the first of three custom rainscreens.
south-west corner
Related to a number of CNC cut path studies we have been conducting, this is a 3/4 mock-up for a door that will be installed in the coming weeks. The topography of the door panel and the cut path pattern was generated using RhinoScript, while the handle evolved over a series of ergonomic studies of the hand and the surface of the door. In the end, the handle blends seamlessly into the topography, unifying the door as a fully integrated and functional panel.
3/4 of the Final Door Panel Milled from Blue Foam
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The Dantchik Stair is a parametric model that was built to allow multiple members of the design team a quick, intuitive, and efficient means to study multiple geometric configurations under various constraints.
As a result, the digital model is composed of a number of individual controllers that drive the geometry of the composite stair. To the right is a window that contains each of the planar vertical standards that are linked to the 3d model on the left, each yellow point on the vertical standards can move freely and will update the geometry of the composite stair. Other Variables controlled by either direct manipulation in the model or by a standard slider include: the stringer geometry, the overall stair profile in plan, the tread profiles & dimensions in section, the handrail position, and the riser geometry.
3d composite model on left - vertical standard controllers on right
