Spectral Grove

Role
Lead Technical Designer
Parametric Modelling of Structure
Shop Drawing Automation
Construction Administration
Where
Downtown Philadelphia
Collaborators
Work completed at SOFTlab with Alana Rogers, Ryan Whitby, Liz Kelsey, and founder Michael Szivos.

Photos : Alan Tansey
Spectral Groves lives as a permanent part of Drexel's campus at the intersection of Market and 34th St in downtown Philadelphia. Its complex patchwork forms a canopy under which the public can pass through or gather. Its construction is created from a series of rotating colored archways that intersect at the canopy level to form a freestanding structure. These simple forms combine to create a color and complex patchwork in which thousands of unique joints are required to hold the structure together.

Joint Patchwork

This is an overview of the canopy showing the 1000 or so joints that had to be created through a unique design and fabrication process. This process is started first through an algorithmic model which was then developed to automate the creation of shop drawings.

Joint Detail

A closeup view of a few of these joints shows the material buildup that allowed for the minimal detailing. The composite structure is made from aluminum parts that sandwich stainless steel bent brackets.

Shop File Automation

A video showing the variety of brackets that are used to hold up the structure

Base Condition

As this was a permanent structure, a lot of attention is paid to how the structure meets the ground. In this case it was a combination of a custom footing and bent brackets similar to the ones used in the canopy itself.