Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion Mockup

Project for a construction documentation class at The Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), instructors Pavel Getov and David Ross, 2016

‍with Lincoln Makanakai Quinn Shipman-Ahlo, Deborah Garcia, Ryonna Chuo and Helena Yun

An animation was used as a clear method for demonstrating the proposed construction hierarchy for the mockup, delineating various systems and the vertical order of construction: from primary structural members to more finite elements of cladding

This project undertook the creation of a hypothetical façade mock up for Zaha Hadid Architect’s Bridge Pavilion for the 2008 Zaragoza Exposition. Particular interest was taken in exploring the tectonic details of complex geometries in intersection. Given the project’s exuberance form, these thoroughly inundated the exploration of the various systems and subcomponents that assembled to form the bridge.

Axonometric drawing illustrating the various control geometries at play in the parametric articulation of the bridge pavilion's form

This conversation gains then a certain resonance with the firm’s quite prolific approach to Parametericism.

Axonometric details clarifying the hierarchy of material interaction in some typical instances of connection throughout the proposed mockup

What remains as the relationship between drawn work and three-dimensional model in an era where, paradoxically, computers hold the capability of completely designing a building and yet rudimentary construction techniques are nevertheless required to realize its material form?

Traditional detail drawings showing various connection conditions across the proposed mockup

Such questions were further explored in alternative representations of the project beyond the standard components of a construction document set. For example, an animation sought to explore the visual representation for an assembly process with emphasis on tectonic sequences and structural hierarchies.

Exploded axonometric drawings annotating the interaction between various structural and cladding systems

The work of designing the mockup culminated in the creation of a mock construction set, acting as practice in familiarizing the team with the process of submittal and value in graphical communication during the construction documentation phase of a project.