Ceiling Cloud was awarded first prize in the "interior" category of the Designing Fabrication Awards for its successful integration of design aesthetics, lighting, environmental performance and fabrication.  Part of the London Design Festival, the awards were organized by the AA|FAB cluster of the Architectural Association School.  

University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, Fifth Year Studio and Digital Fabrication Seminar Project Scott Marble, Visiting Critic (Marble Fairbanks/Columbia GSAPP) Andrew Vrana & Joe Meppelink, Adjunct Professors, UHCOA (Metalab) Rajaa Issa, Paneling Tools and Grasshopper Parametric software support (McNeel & Associates) AMBOX Limited, CNC laser cutting Studio Students:  Eric Arnold (Lighting and Acoustics), Hugo Palma (Modularity), Preetal Shah (Patterning), Jonathan Aljets (Display systems), Fabian Vargas (Fabrication) and Alan Nguyen (Parametric Design) Digital Fabrication Seminar:  Marco Teran, Travis McCarra, Jenny Macedo, Lara Hamilton, Agustin Prebisch and Alex Smith

This semester we've been teaching with Scott Marble at UHCoA in a Visiting Critics Studio and Digital Fabrication seminar.  The focus of the work has been on "designed assemblies" and the use of parametric software that works within Rhino.  The project was to design the Jury Space within the new Student Services Center in the Architecture Building.  The students have developed a Ceiling Cloud that is proposed to clip on to an modified suspended ceiling grid using lightweight folded aluminum panels that are designed to incrementally change dimension and drape into the space below.  Constraints and variables within the parametric models allowed for the extraction of 150 unique panels that are also perforated with their own individual pattern.  The goal of the variations in the overall ceiling system are to disburse and dissipate sound through refraction and absorption created by the corrugation in the panels and their perforation.  The gradient of holes also are calibrated to allow more light to penetrate in the center of the space away from the walls which will be lit with exhibition wall armature lighting.  The crit walls respond to the overall materiality of the space using homosote in an endgrain orientation that will be CNC routed and laminated with a steel substructure.  Our exhibition for the project will be Friday, May 8th in the College of Architecture Atrium from 4-7pm.