#wood

The 2025 IAAC Istanbul Summer school was conducted at İstanbul Bilgi University last year. Yesterday, a video was published about it on YouTube. It was prepared by Arkitekt. Here is the video: This reminded me the workshop and I decided to write about my side of the study. The reciprocal structure was designed by Gamze Gündüz, where she finalized it using a Grasshopper code. Then, the timber elements were labeled and sized with the help of Grasshopper again and integrated…

Urban Atölye, led by architect Nilüfer Kozikoğlu initiated the development of this Grasshopper code. The concept was to create a random relief pattern on a surface to be carved out using CNC technology. In Turkish, this technique is referred to as “kaşıklama,” as the resulting shapes resemble those carved out by a spoon. Consequently, I named this Grasshopper definition “spooning.” The definition employs the Populate Geometry component to achieve a random distribution. However, you can further refine it to allow…

This work emerged out of necessity. In the design and application process of wooden frame structures, where we put thousands of pieces together like a puzzle, the issue of preparing and updating quantity and measurement lists requires the most effort. Hours spent on this and the possibility of making mistakes are very high. However, with the Quantity Surveyor I developed in Grasshopper, you can generate measurement lists almost in real-time. All that needs to be done is to model each…

It has been nearly 2 years since we designed and produced this garden. Similar to the first version, Common-action Gardens #2 is injected in formal park layouts. We build it for recreation as garden structures with an aim to support the “preserve, sustain, and share” idea. Thus, we expect to bring people together while producing. These gardens organize sustainable models for communal living by integrating raised beds, planting holes, water bowls, compost holes, seedboxes, tool pots, niches for animals, and…

This project started as a study on a geometric method called quadror, but resulted in an amazing self-standing structure with the capability to fold flat. Initially, after Ayza made lots of sketches and models, the project team continued the research and finally, they managed to build one prototype only in two days. Here are some photos of this project but there are much more variations and models on their own blog linked below: Below are some photos of their research:…

Another well-organized group of students produced this self-standing structure in only a couple of days. This group joined the same 8mm wooden plates into a set of components of 8-sided polyhedra. Then, they joined these components in a fashion that the macro form emerged from the angles of their geometry. Below are some of the pictures of their production phases: The final prototype Some phases of the production Model of the component and the macro form. *Students: Başak Ayris Karayiğit,…

A very hard-working group from this year’s Computation-based Basic Design Studio produced this amazing structure. They joined 8mm cnc-cut wooden plates using puzzle-like cuts and tightened them with strings. A good example of group coordination produced this result in two days. Below are some photos of the prototype and the project phases: Final prototype. Interlocking Structure The joint details and the first experiments. *Students: Aslı Naz Çolakoğlu, Aybike Yılmaz, Bilge Kardelen Bekiroğlu, Büşra Hamzaoğlu, Ceren Bilen, Simay Uluca, Zülal Atakul Here…

In this final project for İBU Basic Design Studio in 2015, wooden sticks are arranged to produce ruled surfaces for various uses such as sitting, leaning, etc. Here are some photos of the final prototype and its production phases. Final prototype Digital model First sketches. *Students: Dilara Çerçi, Elham Kaya, Gizem Kama, Gül Zorlu, Gülşah Kılıç, Orhan Ünver, Yiğit Altındağ, Sena Ortaç Here is the students’ blog on this project.

The A-Chord folding structure was developed and constructed for the World Wood Day 2015 event in İstanbul. The structure had fifty wooden struts of 4 cm X 4cm with changing heights from 200 cm to 230 cm. Two struts joined with a hinge enabled the folding motion of the structure. Thus, the nearby unit is folding in the opposite direction. The Grasshopper model generated all construction details and drawings automatically. As a result, these data enabled the revisions needed for structural experiments. In…

This is a project proposal designed at the workshop organized together with Simge Esin Orhun and Fulya Akipek as part of the International Wood Day Exhibition in İstanbul. This time, the final Grasshopper definition is created “after” some experiments with physical models. Here is the first model showing the idea inspired by the folding chairs studied here. I realized that in order to make a “wall” instead of a chair, it would be a good idea to extend the edges of the…