dis-Figure was a finalist in the Field Constructs competition and was showcased in their exhibition in 2015.

Description
With the focus of the competition on the dichotomy between the ‘figure’ of Austin’s urban fabric and the temporal quality of the natural landscape, the project redefines the ‘figure’ within the nature preserve. Where artifice meets nature, the pavilion privileges process over form by re-configuring the ‘figure’ not through a particular style but with a specific method of making. We used the Wetlands of the preserve as a productive opportunity to create a disfigured carcass with a deformed skin. Due to the changing character of the Wetlands, from dry to wet, the intention is for the construct to weather over time and remain on site. By applying a digitally produced reciprocal structural script in grasshopper to arches, the complex form is generated from 1.5” x 1” overlapping wood members that inherently become self-supporting.

Project Credits

Student Interns:
Sean Morgan, Nathaniel Banks, Sai Li

Awards
Finalist, Field Constructs Design Competition, Austin, Texas

Publications (print and online)
2015 Bustler, July
2015 Texas Society of Architects, Sept. 4
2015 Architects Newspaper, August
2015 CityLab, July 29

Exhibition
2015 Field Constructs, Ecology Action, Austin
2015 ACADIA, Exhibition of Projects, Cincinnati

Conference Proceedings
2015 ACADIA 2015 Computational Ecologies: Design in the Anthropocene

Invited Presentation
2015 ACADIA 2015 Computational Ecologies:
Design in the Anthropocene,
Session 10: Environmental Parametrics I