Construction of “Enjoy the Silence”

A collaboration between TakahashiLim and AntiCAD

Singapore Design Week 2019 is now in full swing. In the centre of attention is SingaPlural 2019, an exhibition showcasing innovative designs sparked between creatives and brands. A particular collaboration, Enjoy the Silence, perfectly illustrates the relationship between functionality and aesthetics.

Singaporean architects from TakahashiLim A+D, partnered up with product design company AntiCAD, to create an installation for the theme of Unnatural Phenomena. The companies utilised acoustic treatment materials developed by AntiCAD to create a 3D parametric structure inspired by the human ear.

Using their proprietary 3D modelling program, TakahashiLim designed the structure. The structure is an assembly of hexagonal and heptagonal Fabrix panels, held together with 3D printed joints and Fabrix tracks by AntiCAD. Fabrix is an in-house track system for acoustic fabric panels, developed for both planar and parametric installations. A total of 404 Fabrix tracks and 142 unique 3D printed joints are used in the making of the structure.

3D Printing and a lot of sleepless nights

With the blueprint, AntiCAD prepared the Fabrix tracks and the 3D-printed joints. Each Fabrix track was prepared to a strict tolerance of 0.5mm to ensure design integrity. Simultaneously, multiple 3D printers were set to print over ten full days for the 3D-printed joints. Each joint took 5 hours to print, and there were 142 joints! All the interns at AntiCAD had to sleepover night to watch over the prints!

How did we install it?

To build the skeleton of the sculpture, the tracks were secured onto the 3D-printed joints. Each 3D-printed joint has 6 differently angled slots of the corresponding tracks. The tracks together with the joints fix the sculpture’s geometry and gives it its hyperbolic form.

Adding sound absorbing material

Following the completion of the Fabrix track installation, sound absorbing substrate was installed in the hexagonal and heptagonal cavities and finished with a layer of acoustically transparent fabric on both sides of the sculpture. AntiCAD’s choice of substrate for this installation if the Earthwool, a type of mineral infill. At 50mm thickness, Earthwool has an NRC value of 1.0, which gives each hexagonal and heptagonal panel the same NRC of 1.0. The structure envelopes its middle space in a symmetrical manner for efficient sound absorption and stereo-imaging. Coupled with the panels’ maximum NRC of 1.0, users standing at the heart of the sculpture experience an extremely private and silent space.

Finally, completed and celebration!

Enjoy the Silence shows versatility of Fabrix system. While Fabrix system is often installed as flat designs, it is also able to materialise complex, organic geometries. At the same time, AntiCAD continuously develops Fabrix for different building methods suitable for parametric designs. With over 45 track profiles to date, AntiCAD has already created track profiles that can be used to make acoustic panels with curves and waves. We can expect such panels to be popular in the market in the near future.

Where to see and hear the acoustic sculpture?

To see and hear Enjoy the Silence for yourself, you may visit the following places during the exhibit tour to see our colloboration with TakahashiLim A+D.

Date: 4-17 March 2019

Venue: SingaPlural 2019, National Design Centre, 111 Middle Rd, Singapore 188969

Opening Hours: 9am – 7pm

Date: 18 March – 30 June 2019

Venue: Singapore Science Centre, 15 Science Centre Rd, Singapore 609081

Opening Hours: 10am – 6pm

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