TAC
—
—
Meta-Bench
Metaball Concept Diagram

Meta-Bench

Concept diagram of the ‘Meatball’ geometry from singular chairs to overlapping organic seating formsConcept diagram of the ‘Meatball’ geometry from singular chairs to overlapping organic seating formsConcept diagram of the ‘Meatball’ geometry from singular chairs to overlapping organic seating formsConcept diagram of the ‘Meatball’ geometry from singular chairs to overlapping organic seating forms
Concept diagram of the ‘Meatball’ geometry from singular chairs to overlapping organic seating forms

Metaball’ geometry is adapted to blend seats together into increasingly complex contiguous communal forms. ‘Metaballs’ are commonly used in computer graphics as base meshes for sculpting complex organic forms.

Concept diagram of the ‘Meatball’ geometry from singular chairs to overlapping organic seating forms

Concepts

Diagrams

Plans

Furniture

Competitions

RELATED RESEARCH IMAGES

RELATED PROJECT IMAGES

An overall example of a grouped and overlapping Meta-Bench system hosting seating for many different peopleAn overall example of a grouped and overlapping Meta-Bench system hosting seating for many different peopleAn overall example of a grouped and overlapping Meta-Bench system hosting seating for many different peopleAn overall example of a grouped and overlapping Meta-Bench system hosting seating for many different people
Model photograph of the Meta-Bench system in various configurationsModel photograph of the Meta-Bench system in various configurationsModel photograph of the Meta-Bench system in various configurationsModel photograph of the Meta-Bench system in various configurations
Overall plan and elevation drawings of the Meta-Bench seating system showing possible uses and variationsOverall plan and elevation drawings of the Meta-Bench seating system showing possible uses and variationsOverall plan and elevation drawings of the Meta-Bench seating system showing possible uses and variationsOverall plan and elevation drawings of the Meta-Bench seating system showing possible uses and variations
A single example of two Meta-Bench seats inserted into a three-base frameworkA single example of two Meta-Bench seats inserted into a three-base frameworkA single example of two Meta-Bench seats inserted into a three-base frameworkA single example of two Meta-Bench seats inserted into a three-base framework
Outdoor perspective of an arrangement of the Meta-Bench system with colorful seat cushions and varied layoutsOutdoor perspective of an arrangement of the Meta-Bench system with colorful seat cushions and varied layoutsOutdoor perspective of an arrangement of the Meta-Bench system with colorful seat cushions and varied layoutsOutdoor perspective of an arrangement of the Meta-Bench system with colorful seat cushions and varied layouts
Diagram detail of the lower Meta-Bench seating frame and the drop-in seating shellsDiagram detail of the lower Meta-Bench seating frame and the drop-in seating shellsDiagram detail of the lower Meta-Bench seating frame and the drop-in seating shellsDiagram detail of the lower Meta-Bench seating frame and the drop-in seating shells
Example image of a person carrying and placing the lightweight seating shell into the seating frameworkExample image of a person carrying and placing the lightweight seating shell into the seating frameworkExample image of a person carrying and placing the lightweight seating shell into the seating frameworkExample image of a person carrying and placing the lightweight seating shell into the seating framework
Overall collection of the various components that makeup the Meta-Bench seating system including frame, seats, and cushionsOverall collection of the various components that makeup the Meta-Bench seating system including frame, seats, and cushionsOverall collection of the various components that makeup the Meta-Bench seating system including frame, seats, and cushionsOverall collection of the various components that makeup the Meta-Bench seating system including frame, seats, and cushions
Plan and elevation drawings of an individual seat placed within the Meta-Bench frameworkPlan and elevation drawings of an individual seat placed within the Meta-Bench frameworkPlan and elevation drawings of an individual seat placed within the Meta-Bench frameworkPlan and elevation drawings of an individual seat placed within the Meta-Bench framework

OTHER PROJECTS

Seating design is vital in fostering communal interactions in shared spaces. Rooted in the organic growth principles of the Metabolist movement and the transformational geometric language of digital Metaballs, Meta-Bench forms an experiential seating system which individuals can move and adjust.
Infrastructure as urban performance. Serving as both a backdrop to elegant theatrical dances and a framework for holding a wandering public, the Dance Machine enacts performance through both its program and its existence as a merged urban extension of the Queensboro Bridge.
The Butterfly Theater is a living pavilion—part sculpture, part habitat, part playground. It takes inspiration from the elegance of flamingos and the presence of butterflies in Miami Beach, transforming the park’s open center into a place of movement, color, and quiet spectacle.
In Tempe there are two pedestrian axes: Mill Avenue and Palm Walk. Mill Avenue is successful and Palm Walk is not. Is there a way to make the palm trees useful to the students? The PEP structure is powered by buried hydraulic pressure systems giving vertical movement to the layer/palm interface.
QTCT is tasked to blend these two identities onto one site—a give and take relationship between beach ambitions and urban necessities. QTCT is a sampling of two worlds: on one hand it is the embodiment of the language of the beach and on the other it is a detailed and exacting built urban space.
The RACA project must meet two demands: A. REFLECTION (museum) or B. CONTINUATION (practice + addition). The current program and its stagnancy has left the site forgotten—it is a typical static museum on a living site. The site and addition must constantly change through the participation of people.
Coney Island will remain a MUTANT appendage at the farthest shore of New York City. Coney is an agglomeration of all of its histories and should continue to simultaneously move each agenda forward. Coney will continue to evolve through mutations— this vision will accelerate its hybridity.
The challenge of creating a pair of studio apartments that can fill a lifted 16'x16' void necessitates the creation of a quick, mobile, and opportunistic building system that can react to the found conditions of the site. Access to the site is limited and the ground must be free.

OTHER RESEARCH