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Programmed-In: Kiln Canopy is a canopy providing shelter for loading and unloading the kilns at Flimwell park. It is a collaborative project between the Flimwell Kiln team, Flimwell Park and local community members.
Socially, the canopy provides a site for a unique type of knowledge share between professional, educational, and local stakeholders through the firing of ceramics. Kiln Canopy explores the possibilities of designing and manufacturing complex double-curved structures from planar nodes and chords. Once assembled, these apparently simple planar components generate the requisite complexity of a double curvature surface.
The complexity of the overall system is addressed by the detailing of the chord-to-node joint and the design of the assembly sequence. By managing these interdependent factors at the design and prototyping stage, the proposed structure forms a kit-of-parts that enables self-builders to easily assemble the canopy. This approach can empower educational and participatory activities, thus leading to more sustainable and resilient communities. Such a culture has now been embedded in the very soil of Flimwell Park by a diverse team of collaborators.
The development of the master surface was led by structural performance, rainfall simulation, and curvature analysis.
Exploded axonometric showing the roof sub-systems.
The canopy footings are made of a set of welded components: Three steel plates aligned to the bottom chords, a base, and a folded steel bracket to attach to the foundation.
The roof is divided into three patches based on the centred seams to prevent rainwater draining onto the kiln.
The structure is assessed according to its weight, snow load, uplift, and lateral wind loads. The deflection of the self-supporting system is minimal, less than 1 cm.
The diagrams show the lateral wind load scenario. The shell provides continuous force flows with equally distributed loads, graphically represented by principal stress lines.
The structural nodes are cut from a plywood sheet using a 3-axis large bed CNC (Computer Numerical Control) router.
Delivering the canopy’s complex double-curvature form requires the chords to be fabricated using a 6-axis robot. All chords can be machined using the same computer script.
A work holding solution was created to ensure the chords are secured during robot fabrication. It consists of cylindrical dowels that position the stock material in place.
All chords have edges in different planes. The toolpath to fabricate them consists of three operations: pocket milling, contour milling, and orienting verticals planes.
Chord machining in the robotic cell.
Vertical chords are connected to nodes off-site and then to horizontal ones on-site. Each patch is later joined by seams. Finally, the skin strips are bent onto the structure.
A precise labelling system was created for higher assembly efficiency of all structural components.
Selected quads to be prototyped and iterated to test all aspects of the project. This iteration introduces a stair pattern in the chord for skin strips attachment.
Step-by-step process of the connections between the nodes and chords. A brief speculation of the skin connection that is actively bent onto the main structure is also shown.
Step-by-step process of the connections between the nodes and vertical chords.