Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Design Details No. 5 - Laser-Cut Mashrabiya - the Making of...


A few images, and a short video, of the previous post's laser-cut mashrabiya's design and fabrication process... Initially the intention was to make a set of mashrabiyas out of a single sheet laser cut. Unfortunately, due to various logistical mismatches, we weren't able to get them fabricated in the UK and had to get them made locally in Qatar, which in this instance resulted in us using the Fab-Lab at VCUQ. This entailed that all the panels had to fit within the build-frame of the Labs laser-cutter, which only allows for cuts (or etchings) no larger than 60 by 45 cm in size. This introduced its own set of assembly related issues, as the mashrabiya had to cover a window roughly 125 by 250 cm in size... 

In the end though, it all worked out very well, and the installed mashrabiya seemed to be very well received. Even the, very subtle - almost moire like - 'flickering' (see clip below) of the panels worked out well due to the  adjacent AC outlet... 

For earlier examples of laser-cut mashrabiyas we've made, please click here ,here, here, and here... 




Above and Below: The Velcro (hook & Loop) attachment panels by which all the design's elements are suspended...



Above and Below: Close-ups of some of the mashrabiya panels...



Above and Below: Sketches showing/ proposing how the panels should be attached to the window soffit...



Some close-up details of some of the mashrabiya panels...



A short video showing some initial test exploring the 'flicker effect' of some of the mashrabiya panels...


Some earlier tests of cutting patterns and different paper types (including Arabic newspapers) and paper treatments...

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