The second exhibition in 2017 where Thinness was completed and showcased at the CCA in San Francisco, CA for the Designing for Material Innovation Exhibition and Symposium.

THINNESS 2.0 asked the question - is being ‘thin’ something we created or just inherited? Are we fascinated with thinness or are we just forced to like it and actually fantasize about something thicker or more volumetric?

THINNESS is a 10’x10’x10’ pavilion is comprised of 16 elements made of only 2-centimeter-thick walls. The mobile pavilion hybridizes structure and surface to become radically thin and light with the application of high-strength, lightweight concrete to create a new approach to being ‘thin’ yet volumetric and spatial. Using advanced digital design and fabrication techniques, the pavilion aims to defy the typical perception of concrete as a heavy and solid material to become mobile, light and transparent. Using high-performance, lightweight concrete to optimize the structure, surface, and materiality, the pavilion searches for a new perception of concrete where architectural poche becomes extremely thin, light and transparent. The following work demonstrates the methodology, potential impact on the building industry, and ways the project aims to advance both the aesthetic, economic and cultural value of architecture through experimentation and speculation with new materials.

“It’s a really complex project on multiple levels for such a small pavilion and one that we also thought would push the discipline when the pavilion moves to another scale that might be an architectural scale.” - Ila Berman, Juror, AIA NY Chapter Awards, 2018

Project Credits

Students Interns: Sean Morgan, Ethan Schafer
Structural: Sinead MacNamara
Photo Credits: ArialShotz

Grants
2016 CEMEX (CRG) Corporate Funding
‘Thinness Pavilion,’ Award Value: $133,000
2014 Faculty Funding Grant, Syracuse University
‘Thinness’, Award Value: $10,000

Awards
2019 German Design Award Nomination
2018 Citation Award, Architect Magazine
R+D Awards, Citation (top 5 of 100+ entries)
2018 AIA NY Chapter Merit Award, Projects Category
TOP 10%, 1 of 32 awarded

Exhibitions
2018 Center for Architecture, AIANY Design Awards Exhibition, NY, NY
2017 Designing Material Innovation,
CCA (California College of the Arts)
2015 Syracuse University / ACSA Fall Conference Exhibition of Thinness 1.0

Publications (print and online)
2018 Architect Newspaper, July 30
2018 Architect Magazine, R+D Awards, July ‘18
2018 Oculus Magazine, Vol. 80, No. 1, Summer 2018
2017 ‘Material Inventions’ (Editor: Psarra), TBD
2017 Blaine Brownell. Architect Magazine. Nov. 16
2017 Mackenzie Goldberg. Archinect. Oct. 24
2017 Mackenzie Goldberg. Archinect. Sept. 27
2015 Justine Testado, Bustler. Nov. 02
Conference Proceedings
2018 ACSA 106th National Conference
2017 ACADIA Conference
2016 TxA Emerging Design + Technology Annual Conference