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3D HYPERSURFACE, Contoured Alucobond Sculpture

"3D Hypersurface is a curved one-sided hyper minimal surface. One-sided, because it has only one side like a Mobius strip except ours is a complex 3D surface. Hyper, because it is embedded in hyperspace, a mathematical space with more than 3 spatial dimensions. Minimal, because the surface is conceived as a tensioned membrane with least surface within a boundary like a soap film spanning a bent wire frame. 3D HyperSurface has no “inside” or “outside”, unlike buildings and living organisms. It asks the question: Are one-sided buildings or organisms possible?

The chance availability of donated Alucobond sheets, aluminum composite panels, from the owner of a metal fabrication company (Milgo-Bufkin), provided the challenge of building a 3D surface with compound curves from rigid flat sheets of fixed size, 8ft x 4ft. Our structure was larger, its surface had to be decomposed into smaller parts. The availability of waterjet cutting in the factory led to laminating slices of the complex 3D surface into contoured 5000+ smaller flat parts which are then glued. The parts, indexed with a code, suggested that “positional information” in the parts might suffice for assembly. So far, this has eluded us due to gravity, requiring us to invent physical methods to resist shape changes. The aspiration to achieve the assembly of complex asymmetric surfaces without the use of formwork drives us.

3D HyperSurface leverages digital design and fabrication tools to bridge the software-hardware divide in making physical objects while realizing new spatial geometries in built form."

Poster titled “3D HyperSurface: Tectonic Tales Told Through Trials and Tribulations,” documenting the step-by-step physical assembly of a complex architectural sculpture. Left side shows six labeled black-and-white diagrammatic renderings (L01 to L06), each representing a construction layer. Right side features process photos of the structure under construction, with visible clamps, supports, and workshop environments. A person works on the top layer in one image, highlighting the hands-on fabrication process. Each layer is annotated with its unique construction challenges and structural solutions.
Poster titled “3D HyperSurface: Contoured Alucobond Sculpture” showcasing a digital-to-physical architectural project. The layout includes a descriptive text on the left and center, with visualizations on the right. The main text explains the development of a curved, one-sided 3D surface structure inspired by the Klein Bottle, integrating higher-dimensional geometry with architectural fabrication. Colorful 3D renderings display the evolution of form and slicing layers. Final forms include a large tan wooden model and silver metal variants. The visuals emphasize the digital modeling, layering process, and the goal of formwork-free construction.