“Structure” is defined as “A building or other object constructed from several parts”. Raw Modular, a client of AM.CO.ZA, designs and creates office furniture systems that are innovative, highly modular, locally designed & manufactured, from sustainably sourced engineered materials.
Raw Modular invited 15 students from the University of Pretoria, and gave them the opportunity to eat, sleep and breath the Raw Modular way of manufacturing, during the Plywood Design and Construction Week. During the Raw Modular Training Experience, students were tasked with the brief of designing a structure or structural system out of modular Plywood parts that span at least 4 meters over an uneven surface. An important criterion is that the structure was able to handle tension, compression, torsion and sheer force.
In the below video, we learn about Raw Modular, as well as the Plywood Design and Construction Week and see the students in action:
The students were divided into two teams with the goal in mind: To produce a full-scale prototype that could withstand half a ton of pressure.
Each team started by developing their ideas into concepts and was guided by experts in the fields. Using the latest CAD software, the students were able to translate conceptual designs into workable solutions.
Laser cutting and assembly of the prototype models took place using Advanced Machinery Laser Cutting machines, into scale cardboard 1:5 models. By doing so, the students were not only able to analyze the structure but to visualize their prototypes.
Once the cardboard models were given the go-ahead by the students and industry experts, a CNC Machine was used to precisely cut each piece.
The team then had to work together to piece the structure together carefully. After this, the strength of the structure was tested, and the winner was announced!
The students enjoyed learning about the sense of community, materials such as Timber, and computer tools. Even the experts in the field learnt about teamwork from the students.
Founder of Raw Modular, Peet, shared that the program was aimed to further the knowledge of Digital Fabrication as well as the production of Timber by exposing young architects to the Timber construction industry, by exposing youth to ways of fabrication, design, structural, Plywood and to get the learners up to speed with the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Raw Modular was impressed with the students for the effort they put in, the strategies they developed and the created prototypes!