8sewing

The ceiling at Upper Crust, for example, was created using digital modeling and CAD/CAM technology to reconfigure common aluminum plate into a panelized unit.With interlocking seams, the ‘break-formed’ sheet is transformed into a tailored membrane consisting of a gradu- ally mutating pattern. Each facet is supported by its perimeter tabs, and the stitching of indi- vidual pieces forms an aggregated fluid metal fabric.The stitched membrane is a hybrid structure, integrating building trades through its accommodation of HVAC equipment, fire suppression system, and lighting. It spans verti- cal and horizontal distances and is both self- supporting and space making.

Architectural sewing, as demonstrated in the ceiling at Upper Crust and in the installation at SCI-Arc, relies upon the conceptual and struc- tural pliability of the stitch and the technological reductions of the loop stitch in the production of discursive form. Sewing produces a form that bears the traces of human labor and craft- work, while working within the logic of digital production.The stitch is a strategy for combin- ing materials as well as a formal expression of technique. The strategy of the stitch suggests a critical attitude toward the role of craft in contemporary culture. Custom tailoring that works within the existing market relationships between commodities and consumers serves a cultural function by resisting the status quo and embracing difference. 

Upper Crust Restaurant

Hansy Luz Better,Visiting Faculty at Rhode Island School of Design and Lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Le plafond de Upper Crust, par exemple, a été créé en

en une membrane taillée qui con- siste en un motif graduellement mutant. Chacune de ses facettes est supportée par des onglets de périmètre, et la couture de cha- cune de ces pièces forme un agré- gat de tissu métallique fluide. La membrane cousue est en fait une structure hybride, intégrant les

métiers du bâtiment par sa capac- ité d’adaptation à de l’équipement CVC, à un système extincteur d’incendie, et d’éclairage. Cette membrane s’étend tant à la verticale qu’à l’horizontale; elle est autoportante et génératrice d’espace. 

ayant recours à la modélisation numérique et à la technologie CAO/FAO visant à reconfigurer une plaque ordinaire d’aluminium en unité industrialisée. Avec les joints à agrafage, la feuille de décrochement est transformée

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O n S ite review

S ewing

I ssue 8 2002

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