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Hive
Hive
01.20.2025
01.20.2025
Hive
Hive
Hive
Hive is an interlocking masonry system designed to express the flexible and malleable nature of clay as a building material. Each brick is digitally modeled using specific parameters that generate varying aperture sizes and looped structures, which modulate the quality of light and create distinct textural effects. Through extensive iterative testing, the digital model was calibrated to reconcile the unpredictable behavior of wet clay during the stages of printing, drying, and firing. The project intentionally embraces these natural material instabilities, creating a hybrid approach that blends digital precision with the organic tendencies of clay. By balancing digital and analog processes, Hive redefines what clay can do within digital fabrication, bringing a new level of material expression, authenticity, and tactile richness that highlights the evolving relationship between traditional craft and innovative digital design.
Hive is an interlocking masonry system designed to express the flexible and malleable nature of clay as a building material. Each brick is digitally modeled using specific parameters that generate varying aperture sizes and looped structures, which modulate the quality of light and create distinct textural effects. Through extensive iterative testing, the digital model was calibrated to reconcile the unpredictable behavior of wet clay during the stages of printing, drying, and firing. The project intentionally embraces these natural material instabilities, creating a hybrid approach that blends digital precision with the organic tendencies of clay. By balancing digital and analog processes, Hive redefines what clay can do within digital fabrication, bringing a new level of material expression, authenticity, and tactile richness that highlights the evolving relationship between traditional craft and innovative digital design.
Hive is an interlocking masonry system designed to express the flexible and malleable nature of clay as a building material. Each brick is digitally modeled using specific parameters that generate varying aperture sizes and looped structures, which modulate the quality of light and create distinct textural effects. Through extensive iterative testing, the digital model was calibrated to reconcile the unpredictable behavior of wet clay during the stages of printing, drying, and firing. The project intentionally embraces these natural material instabilities, creating a hybrid approach that blends digital precision with the organic tendencies of clay. By balancing digital and analog processes, Hive redefines what clay can do within digital fabrication, bringing a new level of material expression, authenticity, and tactile richness that highlights the evolving relationship between traditional craft and innovative digital design.
Team : Ye Sul E. Cho, Ji Shi, Meghan Taylor, Isabelle Ocho, James Clarke-Hicks, B.Mingyuan Ma, David Correa
Partnership :
Process: This project investigates how smart materials and digital fabrication can create adaptive environments that support seniors aging in place safely. By addressing common challenges in senior living, the research reimagines aging as a source of design innovation. Key explorations include lightweight, form-fitting protective apparel to reduce fall-related injuries; a water-responsive flooring system that enhances grip and signals wet surfaces; and a heat- and humidity-responsive screen system for thermal selfregulation. Each design experiment evolves through an iterative process, balancing material behavior, digital fabrication techniques, and user needs, demonstrating the potential of technology to foster environments that actively care for their occupants.
Process: This project investigates how smart materials and digital fabrication can create adaptive environments that support seniors aging in place safely. By addressing common challenges in senior living, the research reimagines aging as a source of design innovation. Key explorations include lightweight, form-fitting protective apparel to reduce fall-related injuries; a water-responsive flooring system that enhances grip and signals wet surfaces; and a heat- and humidity-responsive screen system for thermal selfregulation. Each design experiment evolves through an iterative process, balancing material behavior, digital fabrication techniques, and user needs, demonstrating the potential of technology to foster environments that actively care for their occupants.
Process: This project investigates how smart materials and digital fabrication can create adaptive environments that support seniors aging in place safely. By addressing common challenges in senior living, the research reimagines aging as a source of design innovation. Key explorations include lightweight, form-fitting protective apparel to reduce fall-related injuries; a water-responsive flooring system that enhances grip and signals wet surfaces; and a heat- and humidity-responsive screen system for thermal selfregulation. Each design experiment evolves through an iterative process, balancing material behavior, digital fabrication techniques, and user needs, demonstrating the potential of technology to foster environments that actively care for their occupants.
Outcome: This project investigates how smart materials and digital fabrication can create adaptive environments that support seniors aging in place safely. By addressing common challenges in senior living, the research reimagines aging as a source of design innovation. Key explorations include lightweight, form-fitting protective apparel to reduce fall-related injuries; a water-responsive floori
Outcome: This project investigates how smart materials and digital fabrication can create adaptive environments that support seniors aging in place safely. By addressing common challenges in senior living, the research reimagines aging as a source of design innovation. Key explorations include lightweight, form-fitting protective apparel to reduce fall-related injuries; a water-responsive floori
Outcome: This project investigates how smart materials and digital fabrication can create adaptive environments that support seniors aging in place safely. By addressing common challenges in senior living, the research reimagines aging as a source of design innovation. Key explorations include lightweight, form-fitting protective apparel to reduce fall-related injuries; a water-responsive floori
