Mar 26, 2020 _ news

TBT: Design Expedition 2018

Hot off the presses is our latest book, which documents our 2018 Design Expedition to San Francisco, California.

Because staying abreast of the best in digital design and fabrication is part of our ongoing commitment to incorporate these techniques into our work. San Francisco offered several places for us to explore projects, from concept to fabrication to installation. Kreysler’s façade at SF MOMA is a perfect example. We were able to visit Kreysler’s fabrication site and then see the finished façade in place at the museum.

We also visited Autodesk’s Pier 9 and Gallery, and the DeYoung Museum. Firsthand conversations with other designers and fabricators led to one of our major takeaways: It’s not about a project’s size or budget, the gritty work of finding the right solution happens at every scale. Evening shuffleboard smackdowns at the Hotel Zetta, trivia at Rosamund Grill, and sampling some amazing Korean barbecue rounded out the trip.

Our annual Design Expedition (DX) was developed to engage a diverse cross-section of employees in design discussions while immersing ourselves in a broad range of urban environments. Past DX’s have included Toronto, Los Angeles, and London. While visiting and documenting buildings is a core activity, the primary function of DX is discourse. Discussions are intended to elevate GBBN design rigor and spark investigations that can permeate the firm through research, discovery, and narratives. To learn more about our previous DXs, click here.

Curious about the custom book sleeve?
Our visit to Kresyler also inspired the design of our limited edition, 3D printed book sleeve. Not only was its undulating surface parametrically derived, so were the dimensions of the entire sleeve. The undulating surface had a series of perimeter curves we adjusted and lofted to create the final surface. The interior dimensions were also parametrically controlled (down to the shape and size of the thumb recess to grab the book) to be able to adjust height, width, and length. That way, if the book’s size ever changed, we could quickly update these dimensions and print new covers. Because of the form and how we were able to orient it in the 3D printer, we were able to nearly eliminate support material (a by-product of the printing process), which means we saved on material.