Assignment
Based on the combination of shape isolations from the last Space/Materiality project, design and construct a collapsible modular structure. Incorporate gestural curves and repetition of one or more shapes throughout the piece. Two models will be made: a small prototype model made of nice materials and a large model that can accommodate one/more people. Materials for the smaller model include acrylic glass, sheet, dowel/hollow dowel, and brass clasps. The material that will be used for the actual model will be corrugated cardboard.
Final Project
P.E.T.E. stands for Panic-Easing-Transportable-Environment. It’s a private structure for students at Parsons that need a quick anxiety reducer during midterms/finals/or during a bad critique where they can simply put together a miniature hideout away from other students. The purple dowels are stoppers built inside each acrylic wall so that the accordion doesn’t recollapse. Below is an example of how the structure will collapse.
Demonstrating its collapsibility
Initial Brainstorming
With the shapes my partner, Elvia Guzman, and I had, we began playing around with how the shapes fall together and what 3 shapes we wanted to incorporate in order to replicate the shape as a modular structure. We decided to go with 2 shapes from Elvia and 1 shape and we were able to conceptualize the shape of a fish as our starting structure shape. The shapes were later rendered on Illustrator and an initial paper model was created.
Process
The 2nd prototype model was made using mostly materials bought from Canal Plastics. The Illustrator renderings were later used to laser cut the shapes into acrylic class. For the entire structure to be collapsible, the acrylic sheet was used to create an accordion. The head of P.E.T.E. can be swung to the side for collapsibility based on the shower curtain method. The acrylic glass is sandwiched between each section of the acrylic sheet using brass clasps.
