The timber construction is an applied research project of the ETH Zurich, and will use new building technologies in an exemplary way. In the restaurant area, the traditional decorative wood carvings are interpreted in a novel way, using digital design and fabrication methods.
Computer-controlled joinery machines have long been standard in the timber industry. These machines crosscut individual planks and beams at the correct angle, and cut slits and bore the necessary holes for assembly. Via “digital wood-carvings”, which are transmitted to the machine as additional fabrication data, we extend this work step and exploit the full potential of digital fabrication with timber.
The ornamentation covers the complete wooden structure (the ceiling is not carved). Its continuous line pattern interprets the restaurant’s spatial features as well as the material wood, into which the ornamentation is carved. Force fields that are defined in virtual space are mapped as lines on the physical surfaces that delimit the interior space. In this way the carvings combine innovation and tradition into a sensual, spatial experience.
Superwood
Design:
Gramazio & Kohler, Zurich with Studio Monte Rosa, ETH Zurich
Client:
ETH Zürich, Swiss Alpine Club
Design team:
Fabio Gramazio, Matthias Kohler with Tobias Bonwetsch and Ralph Baertschi
Design phase:
January 2007 – January 2008
Construction phase:
February – April 2009
