Skilled-In Office
Summary
Client: Port of Rotterdam
Year: 2015
Status: completed
Location: RDM InnovationDock, Rotterdam
Partners: IRS Robotics, Rothoblaas, Metsäwood, Raadschelders Bouwadvies.
Recognition: ARC ‘16 Innovation Award, Bouwprijs ‘17
The Skilled-In Office was the first project we built at Studio RAP. It’s an innovative indoor-office with an organic design that balances program constraints, digital load-bearing optimization and fabrication possibilities.
The 120m2 roof is constructed from 230 unique 37mm thick Metsäwood panels, directly milled from custom fabrication software with a refurbished ABB Robot at a local Makerspace. Even the 3.200 screws were pre-drilled robotically, based on a parametric model of the final design.
It’s the first project to show the scalability of industrial robotic fabrication towards an architectural scale.
A wooden vault in a ship-building warehouse.
Within the Innovation Dock in Rotterdam, a renovated ship-building warehouse, the new Skilled-In Office provides space for technical instruction and hands-on training.
Requirements
Two of the main requirements for the project were a flexible open floor plan and transparency for natural light and connection to the industrial shipbuilding warehouse. Starting from a flat, rectangular plot of 13m by 9m, the design concept featured a glass wall all around the perimeter with a central column that merges into the roof. This column was placed just off center to allow for a large central instruction space and two smaller offices on the side.
Wooden vault
The vaulted ceiling was made of cross-bonded laminated veneer lumber (37mm Metsäwood Kerto Q) because of its low weight, dimensional stability and good machinability.
The overall shape and curvature of the compression-only vault were derived from digital form-finding calculations using Rhino Vault. The double curved shape was then panelized into triangular elements that fit within the range of the robotic arm and within the size of the Kerto stock.
Preparation
Nesting of these triangles into the rectangular panels was based on the grain direction. Because Kerto has a higher tensile and compressive strength parallel to the grain than perpendicular to the grain, the grain of the panel was aligned with the stress lines in the structure to reduce the thickness of the panels.
Connections
The connection between the triangular panels was designed to reduce in-plane shearing and to simplify the precise placement of panels during assembly. The finger joints were held in place with screws to resist point-loads on the structure during construction or maintenance.
Fabrication
The first step in the fabrication process was the engraving of panel outlines and numbering on large 3x1,8m Kerto stock with a large cnc-router. These panels were then cut out with a circular saw.
These semi-finished panels were then transferred to the ABB 6400 robot where the finger joints were milled out using RAP’s own robotic control software RAPCAM. All of the 230 unique panels were engraved, numbered and milled directly from a central parametric model.
Assembly
After assembling the steel structure the first panels of the column were fixed to a steel base. From there, the vault was assembled panel by panel outward toward the perimeter while being supported by shoring posts. After the vault was completed, the tension cables connecting the perimeter beams were tensioned until the facade was vertical and the vault reached its correct shape. Wiring, glass and a climate system were then placed to finish the office.
Conclusion
The end-result is a spectacular, thin vault rising from a central column in which the grain pattern enhances the curvature of the vault and visualizes the forces within the structure. The office embodies the ethos of the Innovation Dock, where transparency, connection and innovation are paramount. In the end, the office is most of all proof that digital fabrication technology has reached the stage where it’s accessible enough that three recent graduates can design, engineer and produce something as efficient and attractive as the Skilled-In Office.
This project was realized at Studio RAP, which I founded and ran from 2014-2020.
All images are copyright © of Studio RAP.