Flow Facade

ROLE

Concept Designer, Industrial Designer, Manufacturing Engineer
COLLABORATORS

MJ Mayo, Ian Backstrom, Greg Reeseman

CONTEXT

A digitally fabricated facade where form, structure, and material performance converge.

“Flow” is a 45-foot architectural facade composed of 45 large-format additively manufactured (LFAM) panels. Each component features dynamic twists that modulate light and visibility, defining the boundary between an outdoor event space and the public street.

Key Insights

Balancing aesthetics, manufacturability, and assembly speed became the central design challenge.
Client discussions revealed a need for visual impact, modularity, and cost efficiency within tight manufacturing and installation windows. Traditional fabrication approaches were either cost-prohibitive or lacked the design flexibility required for the site.

application

Toolpath-driven design enabled rapid fabrication with minimal material waste.
Using DFAM principles, I developed a modular panel strategy that enabled form variation without retooling. Each unique panel geometry was optimized for LFAM, incorporating considerations for toolpath continuity, print orientation, and material shrinkage. Open-source hardware components were integrated for joints, while only the panels were custom printed.

impact

A complete design-to-install workflow that demonstrated the speed and sustainability potential of LFAM.
The project advanced from digital model to full installation within four weeks. Leveraging digital simulation, local production, and additive manufacturing with 100% recycled feedstock minimized cost and transportation emissions.

Render...

Reality!

learnings + next steps

Future iterations will integrate print simulation feedback directly into structural design.
Printing tall, narrow structures exposed limitations in deposition stability and simulation accuracy. By utilizing thermal simulation tools, we would have arrived at an optimized manufacturing strategy with less fine-tuning during production.