CALVINO architecture studio
Mike Calvino, architect

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Outdoor Projects

USF Serpentine Boardwalk   -   Design

Design  |    Calcs/Fab  |    Finished Photos

Serpentine Boardwalk - 2011

Project Location:  USF,  Tampa
Boardwalk Design:  Calvino Architecture Studio
Site Engineering:  Hamilton Engineering, Tampa, FL
Construction Manager:  Williams Company, Tampa, FL
Steel Fabricator:  Unlimited Welding, Orlando, FL.
Concrete Piles:  HJ Foundation, Miami, FL.
Painting Contractor:  Service Painting Contractors, Tampa, FL
Composite Decking:  Errington Construction, Clearwater, FL.

This boardwalk is conceptualized as a series of short bridges made of a double 6" steel pipe spine with CNC plasma cut ribs which support the railsThe entire structure is generated from a single line which is drawn to weave through the existing trees.  The digital structure generation is done using Grasshopper, which is a generative modeling plug-in for Rhinoceros, a 3d modeling program.

The Grasshopper definition is used to also parametrically stretch the ribs at certain locations to create the benches.  Each rib is then extracted by the Grasshopper definition, laid flat, labeled with bridge section & rib location, and listed in 2 dimensions for export to a CAM program where they will all be turned into a G-code which will be sent directly to a CNC plasma machine to cut out all of the parts.  The parts are notched and labeled so that there is no measuring required for assembly in the shop.

Right:    The lighting concept using a small LED strip embeded in the Recycled HDPE plastic deck boards is by Alex Bothos, local designer. 

Design  |    Sketches Fab  |    Finished Photos

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