PLURA Pavilion
Last year, during the first stage of the Architectural Design Graduate project, our student team made a quick preparation and participated in the experimental works exhibition at the International Antalya Architecture Biennale (IABA 2025). This was a challenging yet educational process for our team. Using EPS foam and the robotic hotwire cutter (RHWC), a production run of 125 units, consisting of two modules (95 octahedra and 30 icosahedral units), was carried out. The icosahedral units also underwent an additional cutting operation to obtain Jessen’s Icosahedron variation.
The cut blocks were then assembled by gluing and constructed as an experimental stacking/structural system. Unfortunately, our first attempt failed, and joining the EPS with white glue caused many problems. What we later learned was that silicone adhesive is much sturdier than white glue. However, we unfortunately had to learn this the hard way in this project. You can see the second design we created in the photographs. Beneath this apparent disorder lies a consistent geometric logic: a repeating joinery that is based on the faces of the units. The icosahedra functions as the central connector within this network of polyhedra, positioned between the octahedral forms. It acts as both a mediator and a directional generator. After this project, I decided to take a closer look at the precision issues and the challenges of robot programming in RHWC that I encountered. I had initiated the research you see here, back then.
Below is the Grasshopper code that cuts the set of octahedra from standard EPS stock. You need the Kuka-PRC add-on to run it.
TEAM
Aleksanra Panchenko
Almir Can Sinanoğlu
Carlos Jose Azevedo Dıas
Doğa Edremit
Efe Erman
Juna Altruck
Namra Najam
Pınar Kahya
Razan AlGarah
Ruhma Fatima Quadri
Tuğrul Yazar
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