Augmented Option Studio | 2025

Location: Ithaca, NY

Program: Space Frame/Wall Assembly

Professor: Leslie Lok

Using mixed reality workflows, develop a methodology and set of procedures to turn nonstandard materials into an architectural module.

Pulpwood is wood that is too small in diameter to be used to make standardized lumber components but large enough to still withstand large compressive and tensile forces. Pulpwood’s smaller diameter means that it is easier to manage and move and quicker to grow than logs from older, larger-diameter trees. In fact, pulpwood has been used historically in constructing both indigenous structures like the Haudenosaunee Longhouse and colonial log cabins throughout much of American history.

Yet today pulpwood is often overlooked in conventional construction techniques, primarily because of its non-standard form and size, in favor of standardized lumber components such as 2x4s. Spruce Frame utilizes novel technologies–such as mixed reality scanning and parametric workflows–as well as traditional knowledge of log joinery methods to design and make a strong space frame module out of a catalog of various pulpwood logs. Such a workflow utilizes wood that would otherwise be used to make paper or even firewood for structural components with impressive gravity and lateral load resistance.

Workflow: From Log to Frame

One logs are gathered, they are scanned and transformed into Rhino polysurfaces using a mixed-reality workflow enabled by the Fologram software for Grasshopper and Meta Quest. To scan the log, it is first placed upright, and once the Fologram environment is set up on the Quest, a user begins to place points on a cross-section of the log by “pinching” near the log; Fologram uses gesture recognition to get the X-Y-Z coordinates of the points, and the user can adjust the position of the point on the log via sliders. Four points are placed on each corner of the elliptical section, and after the second ellipse is placed, the Grasshopper workflow begins to sweep the sections to show the geometry as constructed so far. More sections are placed along the logs until the desired accuracy is reached.

Meanwhile, a parametric outline of a space frame module is developed in Grasshopper, and the lengths of the lines are adjusted to accommodate the exact lengths of the scanned logs. The parametric workflow allows for various sizes and shapes of modules to be developed that all use the same catalog of pulpwood logs.  The logs are then mapped onto the linework, labeled with a specific number or code, and the joinery is designed into the logs, either parametrically or manually via Rhino. The joinery is cut into the real logs and the logs are held in place via dowels or screws.

Assembly

The result is a space frame module or wall module that can be easily assembled with two people and uses simple joints that can be made from readily-available tools such as a reciprocating saw or even push or pull saws. While previous projects exploring pulpwood construction have often used specialized tools such as LiDAR scanning or robotic fabrication to build the project, Spruce Frame utilizes simpler, more economical, and more accessible systems and tools that allow for more people to take advantage of the immense architectural potential of the abundant resource of pulpwood.

Spruce Frame Cabin

The Spruce Frame Cabin utilizes the assembly logics designed earlier to accommodate the programs of a dwelling unit. The triangular space frame is expanded to produce trapezoidal frames, arrayed along two lines, that house rooms for sleeping, bathing, and working. These frames contract as they reach the middle of the cabin until they become slender triangular elements surrounding the main living, dining, and eating spaces.

Structure Informing Aesthetics

Each frame in the array is mirrored horizontally from the previous one, creating a series of frames that are the inverse of each other. This results in a faceted, sharp, triangulated facade treatment on the exterior to prevent the emergence of a doubly curving exterior surface, while the interior embraces double curvature using a lath-and-plaster wall assembly. This formal contrast results from the unconventional structural configuration but leads to the cabin’s unique aesthetic language.

Assembly

The assembly of the frames used in the Spruce Frame Cabin utilize an “X-Y-Z” slotting joint that is able to unite three log members into a single point. This aids in fabrication, as the joints are relatively simple to make; assembly, since the connections are made via slotting; and wall assembly, since the lack of offset joints means that there are less structural members to obstruct the assembly process.