This new chapter in the design process brings to mind a research paper I wrote on the Buddhist tradition of sand mandalas. The patience and beauty of their detail work is phenomenal; every grain of sand must be placed in its perfect location or else the entire composition could be thrown off. While we won’t be undergoing quite this level of clarity, I think Studio V can use this tradition as a reminder for the importance of detail even at the smallest scale, to truly create a cohesive and functional pavilion.
This past Friday we had the opportunity to meet with John Moore, a well-known structural engineer in Charleston, to discuss the structural integrity of our pavilion. It’s solidifying to know that we were in the general ballpark as far as our structural system was created, a collection of beams, girders, purlins and columns all somewhat accurately spaced and sized. Mr. Moore was very informative regarding our polycarbonate panels, giving us suggestions on the purlin dimensions and spacing as well. Furthermore, he had insightful ideas regarding our column to girder to beam connection and how we may go about that economically but beautifully. He also gave us great suggestions on types of wood we should use for the girders ( glue-lamb seems to be a good fit) and how that would dictate other moves regarding overall construction.
Thus this weekend, we began another round of researching, this time into the particulars of our construction process. I was in charge of researching concrete slab methods and drainage systems. It was very interesting learning about the process of pouring concrete efficiently and creating effective control joints to prevent cracking. After watching a few Youtube videos, I am really excited to do this with our pavilion!