Jimenez Garcia, M; (2019) Cloud XS. [Design]. Manuel Jimenez Garcia: London, UK.

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Abstract

Competition Entry for Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2019 - Shortlisted Architecture throughout history has been searching for lightness. In the late 20th century and early 21st century, the portability of lightweight structures has led not only to a plethora of temporary installations but also to the emergence of portable and reconfigurable architectures that better suit the exponential increase of dynamism in our society. In the 1960s and 70s nomadic lightweight architecture was mainly explored through pneumatic structures. Prominent examples were the EXPO’70 in Osaka, Jonas House by Jose Miguel de Prada Poole, and the inflatable habitats developed by David Greene, Paul Jungmann and Haus-Rucker-Co, among others. Just a few years later in 1972, the architect and structural engineer Frei Otto concluded work on the roof of Munich’s Olympic stadium, materialising the full potential of his long research on tensile and membrane structures. Similarly to the pneumatic structures previously described, membrane structures can be rapidly deployed. These make them an ideal solution for scenarios in need of large span shelters that can be efficiently transported and installed, such as emergency refuge in response to natural disasters. Although tensile structures offer a more robust tectonic solution than pneumatics, reconfigurability is not an aspect that comes into play as much as it did for the Metabolists and the pneumatic architecture enthusiasts. CloudXS situates itself in between these two approaches, aiming at the creation of lightweight rapidly deployable structures that could achieve large spans while allowing reconfigurability for future use. Tensile structures generally need custom patterning to perform in a given shape. By using a discrete approach, CloudXS aims to achieve structural performance and formal heterogeneity through different combinations of a universal module, rather than rationalising the overall structure into differentiated membrane parts. This allows for a subsequent disassembly and re-assembly of the structure, and for it to return to its original flat-packed state to optimise transportation. This project promotes a universal system that could be assembled without the use of large sets of heavy machinery. The module is meant to be a product that any non-expert user can easily put together. Each element is optimised to be delivered in a single full format (2400x1220) sheet of 8mm plywood, and engineered to be assembled in 20 minutes by any user without previous training, just following the instruction leaflet. The piece could be locally laser-cut or delivered flat-packed. Each element weights less than 12kg, so it could be easily manipulated by a single person. These features lead to a production chain reduced to the very minimum, empowering users to create a primitive shelter with just their bare hands. To simplify the assembly of the piece, a basic A to B stitching connection is integrated into the module file. Each piece’s package contains eight laser-cut parts and three 40 x 80 x 40mm blocks. In a first assembly stage, the ends of the parts are screwed to the wooden blocks. This prepares the pieces to be ready to be bent and stitched together. The pieces of plywood retain certain flexibility while performing as a bending active structure, in which the material’s elasticity allows to maintain an internally stressed state in the given geometrical configuration. The pieces’ asymmetric distribution of material allows for different curvatures to be locally controlled. At the same time, this asymmetry, in combination with the inner colour of the elements, generates a three dimensional pattern in the structure, producing a large variety of light and shadow effects. Hence, the rotation of each element is balanced both tectonically and experientially. All faces of the element are tangental to the neighbouring piece in the connection areas. This leads to four possible rotations in each of the modules. For the TAB 2019 pavilion, the CloudXS system is tested in a 17.5 (length) x 4.1 (width) x 5m (height) shell, which, although it does not yet achieve the maximum span that the system could reach, it suggests a multiple-user system. The shell is supported by a continuous OSB bench which smoothly transitions into a column, lifting the east end of the shell to form an entrance to the seating area. This bench is built with OSB sections clad with bent plywood. The shell’s pieces are connected flat on the ground and subsequently anchored to the base. The structure achieves then the inner stress that keeps the pieces in their final position. The installation will feature the minimum viable product to demonstrate the potential of CloudXS for selfbuilt large span structures. In a further stage, the introduction of different variants of the piece, such as cross modules, different scale blocks or enclosed elements, could be explored to materialise more ambitious curvilinear topologies, enhancing not only the tectonic possibilities of this system but also its potential to create surprising spatial effects.

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