> form follows forces
Designing a motorshow is more a question of communication then architecture. Our design is not a container for Information but communication itself. Its means are metaphors and emotional space. Highlight of the stand was a freeform in the shape of a drop of water that visitors could walk into, and was intended to be a supersign for hydrogen-based technology.
Studio Name: Franken Generalplaner GmbH
Design Team: PROF. BERNHARD FRANKEN, SONJA ALBRECHT, NILS-PETER FISCHER, KIRSTIN FRIED, NIKLAS FÜHRER, THILO KURZEMANN, HANS-HERBERT KUSS, MICHAEL LULAY, THOMAS REMDISCH
Area: Hessen, Germany
Year: 1999
Location: IAA 1999, Frankfurt/Main
Consultants: IBZ+L, BOLLINGER + GROHMANN
Photography Credits: Friedrich Busam
> formgeneration of the bubble
In order to make a building appear like a giant water drop, its skin must express the fragile balance between internal pressure and surface tension.
> digital production of the bubble
305 different acrylic-glass plates were heat formed onto individually CNC milled foam blocks, and then trimmed at the edges, again with CNC. The computer model and constructed surface are absolutely identical, and with a thickness of 8 mm approach the dimensionless data-surface. The effort expended, when one considers the lack of standardization, is of course immense – each pane is a one-off.
The substructure is based on orthogonal sections made from sheet aluminum. An additional level of abstraction or derivation to the mastergeometry was thereby introduced. The section cutting was carried out using CNC-driven water-jet cutters in seven different factories, and the 3500 individual pieces necessary were completed with required drill holes and assembly markings, so that the manual work on site for assembly could be reduced.
