We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Kuber Patel about their original and creative Exhibition Gallery design work. Kuber Patel is an award-winning creative designer, that makes our world a better place with their original exhibition gallery works.
Kuber Patel ("KP") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Darwin Bucky Exhibition Gallery. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
KP : Bucky is inspired by Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome. The project is envisioned to be a traveling gallery complemented by its aesthetic architecture for curators to exhibit their work anywhere in the world. One of the major inspirations was to create a gallery that it should be designed for repurposing and can be recycled or deconstructed to minimize unnecessary footprints.
KP : The challenge was to construct a typology that works for off-grid areas. The criteria to fit a 10meter span and 6meter height structure into a 6meter container was a difficult task since Bucky was envisioned to be easy to carry around the globe. Adding further, making an open system into a closed system was also a major challenge which was necessary to make the building as watertight as that would ruin the artworks. The windows are designed to have indirect lighting without having rainwater through the opening to protect the painting from any harsh environmental conditions.
KP : Bucky was designed with the aim of making a traveling gallery that can be transported anywhere in the world in a 6-meter shipping container. Origami was the basic methodology used to figure out the panel folding of the building and with the help of parametric tools, the fabrication was done onsite. As a result, Bucky was able to fit in a container as well as convert itself into a huge 100-square-meter gallery within a matter of days.
KP : Located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The project started in October 2019 and was made open to the public in October 2021.
KP : The design was a direct manifestation of the client's vision who wanted a flat-packed structure in the shape of a geodesic dome inspired by Buckminster Fuller's work.
KP : Overall, my architectural style mostly revolves around Performance orientated design that has a strong response to material, structural, social, and environmental behavior.
KP : The project was influenced by Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome hence, the name Bucky. The lead architect Jwalant Mahadevwala play an instrumental role in helping shape the project coupled with my skills as a Generative, Algorithmic and Parametric Design consultant.
KP : The structure would be leased to any kind of curator wanting to showcase his/her work in a location around the world. Currently, the structure hosts many cultural events and exhibits artworks.
KP : The structure is made using 1mm mild steel spanning a massive 10 meters and 6 meters in height without beams or columns. The Avant grade joinery system makes the structure leakproof and conceals more than 70 percent of the 2800 bolts which is an impossible task to achieve for a component that has naked edges on all four sides as the panels need to be collapsible. The panel size can be easily handled by one person making the assembly extremely efficient.
KP : The project is influenced by a geodesic dome inspired by Buckminster Fuller hence the name Bucky.
KP : Rhino and Grasshopper have been my go-to tools in software as they help me enhance geometrical control over the design. Digital fabrication tools such as metal laser-cutting, robotic sheet folding, and CNC tools also made this project a reality.
KP : Galleries is always perceived as a four-walled box. Bucky transforms the way people experience galleries by making the building itself a part of the exhibition. People will interact the same way with the building as they interact with the exhibits inside it.
KP : I collaborated with Abhay Mangaldas and ANDBLACK studio's founder/principal architect Jwalant Mahadevwala. I was the specialist who provided the entire project with Generative, Algorithmic and Parametric Design development fundamental for the project's success.
KP : Our design style is influenced more by the process of emergence. With the advancement of computational tools like Generative, Algorithmic, and Parametric Design we now have the ability to look at designs quantitatively rather than qualitatively. The idea is that during the design process we have local-level control over each aspect of the design. Through a parametrically driven model, you have a schematic idea of the final result and the final output is always emergent. Here the design is controlled through criteria and parameters at various scales setting up a process of emergence.
KP : The system evolved from a series of studies done on origami to make the metal sheets rigid through strategic folding. Circular shape of Bucky is a direct representation of Buckminster Fuller's geodesic dome which helps with structural performance and the forgiving geometrical form in case of human error during assembly.
KP : The mathematical precision of the bolting joinery between each panel as they rotate along the circumference was successfully executed as we had a parametric model. Since the system had to flat-pack structure design the details in a way to keep the panel have no water seepage was the biggest challenge we faced during design development.
KP : A' Design Award is a very prestigious banner and our company was waiting for the right project that could represent us in an international design competition.
KP : I learned python coding and advance scripting through a platform called Grasshopper3d to develop a precise model leaving zero room for error. This was necessary as all panels had to be planar moving along a curved surface where each panel had to be bolted form all sides.
