Crop Stop 2 and the Collaboration with the Solar Decathlon Team

This weekend, our studio along with some of the group members from the Clemson’s Solar Decathlon team, worked on constructing the kitchen structure for the Crop Stop 2 project. With a total of 18 hours of daylight, we worked intensively collaborating between three groups. A group of graduate students were giving instructions, noting changes and efficiency  and feeding the parts to a group of students assembling the structure. The third group of students worked on applying any changes needed to the parts and physically changing and re-cutting some of the modified parts. A day before the arrival of the parts, our studio team constructed a foundation base for the floor joists to sit on. The weather conditions were not optimal with heavy rain, and some of the students creatively resorted to creating raincoats out of large trash bags. Even the rain didn’t stop us from building! The next day once the other group of students arrived, we were able to quickly upload the puzzle like structural system and organize the parts based on the numbers. As the we started building, we discovered a few problems with the floor frame, but that was quickly modified drilling more screws, allowing the wood to fit together with a greater precision. The three group system seemed to be working, and as the directions kept coming, we were able to assemble all of the floor joists in 18 minutes. It was exciting to see a structure raised up so quickly! Learning new tools also came with it, using the zip-tie gun as a method for joinery was new to me, and surprising how strong the connections were after tightening. The next day, we started by connecting the roof pieces together. The process seemed efficient and quick, if it wasn’t for the fact that we noticed that even the weight of the three girls standing on top of some of the parts to clamp them down and drill through, was not enough. We noticed gaps between the parts and had to re-drill with some help of our guy classmates. Finally putting together the walls might have been the most complicated. Some of the parts did not fit and more modifications had to be made. However, once the walls were assembled raising them up and fitting them into the floor spaces was very quick and easy. It was fascinating to see how a simple lock in system for joints of the walls and the roof worked effectively and  easily. The collaboration between the students and team work over the weekend was great!