Category Archives: Lana Awad

For this workshop, we designed a two-person bench using the structure optimizing software Topostruct and Millipede, a Grasshopper plugin. We digitally simulated loads and fixed supports onto the general boundaries that we wanted for our design in order to generate a basic stress diagram showing the various areas of tension and compression. The bench has a fixed support on one leg, and a rolling joint on the opposing assymetrical leg. We then optimized the design of the bench according to minimizing the distribution of material based on the structural analysis. We then had the freedom to interpret these final digital results into a physical reality. We wanted to exaggerate the thinness of the final form by layering cardboard cutouts vertically. There are outer layers that outline the resultant boundary from the structural diagram, and inner receding layers that help distribute the loads while using as little material as possible. From the top and from the sides, the inner layers read as a separate entity within the actual outer form of the bench.

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