SLIDING LATTICE

This screen system is an aggregation of a modular unit based on the four foot by eight foot size of a standard sheet of plywood. In order to reach the full 10’-1” height of the faculty center, there is a 30”x48” stationary shelf put together with slab inserts to connect three sheets to create shelves and add structural integrity. The movable wall is placed on the stationary shelf on a track to allow a shift to create a barrier and allow access into the desk area. The movable wall is three sheets of plywood that is laminated together using wood glue and metal fixtures. The imposition of a rotated grid each sheet of plywood creates a system of apertures which can be both scaled and shifted to create variable sizes and densities of penetration in the screen to suit site and programmatic needs. The gridded apertures are cut out by a water jet cutter.

To meet the programmatic considerations for the faculty center wall installation, we diagrammed areas of acoustic density as well as sight paths. Based on the need for a physical barrier between the hallway and workstations in the faculty center, the plan location of the screen is fixed in the plane of the beam which runs parallel to the hallway. Runners are mounted in this plane on both floor and ceiling in order to be able to slide the screen so that it can function as a barrier while still allowing access. The acoustic and optical considerations are developed in elevation in conjunction with the sectional structural needs of the screen.

The elevation was developed into three integrated zones. Zero to three feet high accommodates an additional programmatic element in the form of shelving. Three to six feet high is the area of highest acoustic and sight line density based on the height of people both sitting and standing, and thus has the smallest and greatest density of apertures. At approximately six feet high to the ceiling, apertures are larger and less dense in order to allow more air and a lesser intensity of sound through the screen. In section, the shelving at the bottom is the thickest accumulation of plies in order to provide surface area for the shelving. The top section of the screen is also thicker than the middle in order to provide the necessary structural integrity at the points the screen is hung from.