Joshua Vermillion: Design + Computation

“Transformer” is a layered, light-responsive shading lattice, designed and fabricated by an interdisciplinary team of students and faculty. The system acts as an active shading device, potentially for use within a building envelope.

tetraMIN is a hanging screen aggregate consisting of componentry generated from tetrahedron geometry via Rhino’s Grasshopper parametric modeling plug-in. Comprised of laser cut polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) scraps, each component forms a periodic minimal surface, and is propagated into a regular pattern by a series of reflecting/mirroring operations.

The “reBarn” program evolved to enhance the site by connecting users more solidly to the landscape in a tactile and visual manner, and provide a new platform for activity (crawling, climbing, sliding) and reflection (sitting, chatting, viewing, and reclining).

‘SmartScrap’ was a project testing ecological design strategies for the building industry following generous awards from the Graham Foundation for the Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and the Discovery foundation.

A scaffold of suspended kinetic meshwork, populated by secondary components such as a light weight, expanded textile meshwork. Responding in conjunction with microprocessor-controlled actuators and sensors, the system self adjusts based on the location of users in the space.

Beginning with material investigations by students with hardwood veneer, Luminaire highlights some of the subtler properties of hardwood. The thinness of veneer allows wood to bend, twist, and glow—revealing latent and innate qualities of the thinly sliced wood.