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    ALEX DALLAS

    All Rights Reserved © 2016 Alex Dallas

    THE COLLABORATORY SURFACE

    2014-2015 | THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

    COCKRELL SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING COLLABORATORS: MICHAEL HABERMAN,
    YING XU, GREG ENENSTEIN, DAN HEMME, & CHENYANG BI

    DESIGN TEAM: CLAY ODOM, TAMIE GLASS, JEN WONG, & ZACH WALTERS

    ROLE: RESEARCH ASSISTANT FOR PRELIMINARY DESIGN THROUGH BUILD

    This acoustical wall system was designed and fabricated for a collaborative space in The Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin. The project integrates traditional concerns such as acoustics, indoor air quality, and program with other more ephemeral considerations such as atmosphere, ornamentation, and aesthetics. Wood veneer and wool felt were selected to maximize visual effect and acoustical performance while minimizing material impact.

    Working with our team of acoustical engineering researchers and students from the Cockrell School of Engineering, it was determined that, to maximize the diffusion of sound, it is important to have a variety of convex and concave surfaces. The two main elements of the system are the concave tracks and the convex modules inserted into the tracks. Though both are fabricated from wood veneer, they leverage the material qualities of the veneer in very different ways.

    Layers of textural richness are present in the natural variation of the wood grain and wool fibers, as well as a patterned perforation layer subtracted from the wood veneer modules. The perforations create a secondary level of acoustical performance, covering the surfaces in an abstracted wood grain pattern.

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    Detail View 2
    Material Investigation
    Concept Diagram
    Early Surface Proposals
    Modular Concept
    Elevation Study
    East Elevation
    Perferation and Module Tab Study
    Module and Track Assembly Diagram
    Full Scale Mock-UP
    Detail View 1
    Classroom Panoramic