"How much does your building weigh?"

This question was posed to Lord Norman Foster by Buckminster Fuller after he visited the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich, England. The building, a shed-alike structure made entirely out of glass, aluminum panels and a large structural spaceframe appeared to be floating while defying gravity, leaving Fuller astounded by its unfamiliar architectural appearance. Through mixing programmatic aspects (museum and exhibition space) with an architectural technology usually applied to the construction of hangars, depots and factories, Foster created a new paradigm for architectural typologies and programmatic function.

The three projects presented in this article are devoid of any programmatic function, yet they belong to a similar lineage of hybridized technological systems and performance based design. The narrative for these concepts is driven by synthesized structures and material properties in order to further explore the capacities of architectural typologies.

How can you design something to be paper-thin and super-light while maintaining its structural integrity? The first of these research projects, SubDivision was installed inside an atrium at the University of Oregon in Eugene and weighs only 60 pounds. The second structure, the Jetson project is nearly double that size with a volume of 14 feet by 20 feet by 6 feet and was installed at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta in 2015. The project weighs only 80 pounds and was fabricated out of super thin aluminum similar to a Coke can.

The Super Nova project is the third built installation of this series, this time undertaking new structural logics. It is located at the Speer Gallery at the University of Colorado in Denver and spans over 30 feet with a weight of only 120 pounds. The structural concept for the installation is based on a hybrid system. Partly attached to the auditorium wall and partly suspended within the atrium space, the installation is carefully balanced, while its cantilevering components and structural layering challenge the notion of gravity.

Similar to the fabrication of an airplane, all three projects apply techniques of the aviation industry. Manufactured out of extremely lightweight, aluminum panels, the installations consist of over 1000 individual, unique and custom CNC cut components. These individual components are assembled like a large 3-dimensional puzzle, forming an elegant, soft and dynamic volume. The assemblage of these components forms a complex and futuristic design. It is conceived of as a precious network in both its sweeping and curvilinear form while we are very much aware how much it weighs.