The Phaidon Atlas takes a look at some beautifully rhythmic digitally fabricated skins

Soumaya Museum by Free - photograph by Adam Weisman

As we approach the end of the week it's time again to check in what our colleagues at the Phaidon Atlas have been working on recently. The subject of their popular editors’ focus series this week is buildings with digitally fabricated skins.  

Digital fabrication makes use of new technology to efficiently build structures: utilizing computer modeling to reduce materials, pin point excess loads and create responsive features. Processes are streamlined even in the manufacturing stage by using file to factory methods to customize building elements. These techniques result in unique façade compositions: rhythmic, repetitive patterns that are both cohesive and precise while allowing for natural variation. The end result - certainly in the case of the Noord-Holland Pavilion - can resemble some form of alien-like creation. Here’s our pick of the ones they’ve selected for special attention. You’ll find plenty more though at the Atlas here.

Soumaya Museum by Free (pic above) Museum buildings tend to be conceived either for maximum functionality – acting as neutral containers for art – or as iconic structures that represent a city at a particular historic moment. The Museo Soumaya was designed as both: a sculptural building that is unique and contemporary, yet one able to house a collection of international paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects dating from the fourteenth century to the present. The exterior of the building is an amorphous shape perceived differently from every angle, reflecting the diversity of the collection inside. The building's distinctive façade is made of hexagonal aluminum modules facilitation its preservation and durability. The shell is constructed with steel columns of different diameters, each with its own geometry and shape, creating non-linear circulation paths for the visitor....Continue Reading

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