Optimization and prefabrication of timber Voronoi shells

Abstract

We introduce a variant of the timber grid shell, the timber Voronoi shell, whose surface is reticulated by Voronoi tessellation and whose edges are made of discrete dimensional timber. This work explores form-finding methods of the Voronoi shell as a compressive funicular shell. Two closed-form solutions to shape initialization are proposed. We develop methods for minimizing the deviation from coplanarity between timber members and adjacent surface normal in order to facilitate manufacturing. A well-defined fabrication process is important for making the physical structure consistent with the structural model. A 6-axis robot with a motor spindle is employed to prefabricate the timber so the in situ manual assembly becomes easier. A parametric model describes the joint details. We formulate the robotic toolpath as a closed-form function of the resultant mesh from form finding. Thus, a general-purpose programming language can directly implement the mesh optimization and manufacturing processes without CAD or CAM software. The physical implementations, including an exhibition pavilion, validated the approach.