We Did It!
Thank you for your generous support of the multiple-award-winning Carapace Pavilion. As a result of your help, we received more than enough financial support and we were able to re-cast the bad panel. We completed and installed the Carapace last month at Joshua Tree National Park. It is certainly the best work I have ever done with students here at USC. Here is a link to an exciting one-minute time-lapse YouTube video showing the final installation. There are also a few dozen images on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dnobleusc), and I will be adding more soon. The Carapace was designed and built by students and faculty of the USC School of Architecture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-C4ntm9Gj0
Collaborative design-build
Anticlastic double-curved geometry
Diagrid structure
CNC milling on campus
Performative parametrics
Paperless (almost)
One mold, five panels, three types
Custom software scripting
Ultra-high-performance-concrete
Finite element analysis
Curved tubular structure
Digital design and fabrication
Extreme structural overhang
Staggered moment connections
Response to rock formations
Cholla cactus skeleton inspiration
Color-calibrated site analysis
Zero-maintenance for 100+ years
Extreme climate
One truck + one trip to the site
Native-cultures artifact protection
Ultra-thin-shell concrete
No standard rebar
Fully prefabricated offsite
No foundation digging allowed
Trucking size and weight design
Design for one-day installation
Project and cost management
Thank you again for helping us complete the Carapace Pavilion. Hundreds of students were able to participate hands-on in the design and fabrication of this wonderful project!
Doug
Douglas E. Noble, Ph.D., FAIA
Fellow of the Facade Tectonics Institute
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
School of Architecture
University of Southern California