MILL TO BUILD

UVA SAWMILLING’S FIRST ANNUAL DESIGN - BUILD COMPETITION

2023 Mill to Build Awards Anounced

AID: Arboreal Informed Design

Benjamin Shapiro, Avery Edson, Paul Bourdin, Brandon Meinders

Winning Design Team

Notes from the Jury:

The material process presented celebrates the whole log through a specific milling strategy - ‘wedge sawn’ lumber. The project stands out for exerting design authorship early in the fabrication process – starting at the sawmill – and likewise grants the material agency. This strategy thus presents opportunities for the development of a clear, fabrication-driven design of both furniture and spatial and formal systems. Future development of the project will need to consider both how to implement this milling strategy in conversation with the sawyer, and how the less-than-cylindrical reality of the log will impact the design – this presents exciting opportunities in the spirit of material agency. The jury is excited to see how the design develops through the process of sawmilling to promote engagement and community on the North Terrace.

Honorable Mention

The Grove

Julia West, Charlotte Pitts, Eli Sobel

Notes from the Jury:

Beautifully drawn and represented, this project creates a sense of place and interior within the expanse of the North Terrace. The material application allows visitors to understand the whole tree, from the interior and from the exterior. It is one of the few presentations to present a view of the tree’s bark. While the project encompasses a number of ideas and systems, it suggests the possibility for a clear holistic material and formal strategy for designing both space and furniture.

The current practice of deriving rectilinear, dimensional lumber from circular trees inevitably results in waste. Our project explores a more waste-efficient approach to generating standardized lumber and maintaining the visual link to its previous life cycle stages. This new approach also encompasses where, and how, we choose to use these materials. The intrinsic nature of the wedge makes it ideal for generating smooth curves, such as those that define the edges of a branch or tree. Much like the serpentine walls that can be found on UVA’s campus, the walls constructed from these wedges can weave throughout a landscape with a low profile while still being self-supporting. Their undulating concavity also creates a protected space to stop and rest that has been utilized in varied ways over time by each new generation of UVA students.

The Grove addresses the need for flexible outdoor meeting spaces around Campbell Hall. While there are a few tables and benches around the building, there is a lack of multi-functional touchdown spaces for formal and informal gatherings.

The project celebrates the entirety of the log: the rough edges with bark and knots, the particular shape and qualities, and the precious interior grain and texture.

Recomposition

Ammon Embleton, Bhargavi Murthy, Adrian Robins, Leila Ehtesham, Charlotte Devine

“Recomposition” upcycles the undesirable cuts of wood typically discarded in the process of sawmilling into dynamic adjustable seating. Using only the salvaged offcuts from live-sawn, quartersawn and plainsawn milling processes, we will create 36 movable chairs on Campbell Hall’s North Terrace. Seldom used commercially, these tough and irregular offcuts can be used to create sturdy and weather-resistant furniture through appropriate design. Our project celebrates the structural and aesthetic potential of these pieces and employs building methods such as CNC routing and steam-bending.

Notes from the Jury:

This project presents a clear diagram of an undulating and manipulable seatscape. Drawings showcasing various arrangements and seating positions demonstrate the social capacity of this furniture system. There are many ideas in the project that would individually lead to interesting investigations of material and fabrication process.

Honorable Mention

COMPETITION COMPLETED

Registration - December 1st, 2022 to January 11th, 2023.

NO REGISTRATION FEE

Proposals must be submitted by 11:59 pm on January 22nd, 2023

The winning proposal will be announced on January 25th, 2023

Introduction

UVA Sawmilling, at its core, is aimed at Preservation, Sustainability, and Education through an exploration of the latent resource that is UVA’s fallen trees. These trees pile up at UVA Landscaping’s dump site and are otherwise turned into wood chips. Dimensional lumber is provided at no cost to UVA students for internal projects and Heritage Trees slabs are set aside for special projects and recently, public sale. Through upcycling of material, UVA Sawmilling seeks to continue the legacy of these fallen trees. We are keepers of their carbon, their stories, and share them with the UVA Community and beyond.

For over two and a half years, UVA Sawmilling has provided quality material to University students free-of-cost, and shared the importance of urban forestry with the community. Our mission is to empower students, faculty, and staff to understand approaches to lumber processing, urban wood utilization, and various woodworking techniques, in order to design more sustainably. This competition is one of many ways we are attempting to engage the community with our urban wood network.

The Competition

Mill To Build is all about engaging students in the practical and sustainable use of material available on Grounds, moving from tree to rough-sawn lumber to a built structure. This competition proposes the design and fabrication of an installation that will be the centerpiece of an outdoor education space.

Student teams will design small-scale installations (no larger than 8’x8’x8’) that spark conversation between team members' disciplinary backgrounds and the sustainable use of urban wood. These designs will explore the use of sustainable lumber material and how efficiency can be furthered by specific milling practices.

The winning design will be built and fully realized by the end of the academic year, with the support and guidance of the UVA Sawmilling team and student volunteers.

DOWNLOAD FULL COMPETITION BRIEF

Mill to Build Jury Panel

Emily Wettstein

Assistant Professor
University of Virginia Landscape Architecture Department
Emily has been at the A School since Spring 2022. She comes to our jury team with a background in Architecture, Studio Art, and Landscape Architecture. Her current research is “A Student-as-Site Pedagogy,” exploring ways to create a more inclusive design education process. Emily currently teaches both studio and landscape architecture courses at UVA. See her full bio here.
Melissa Goldman

Fabrication Lab Manager
University of Virginia School of Architecture
Melissa brings practical and multiscale design expertise to our jury panel. She has been at UVA since 2011 mentoring, teaching, and making in the Fab Lab in Campbell Hall. Outside of her many leadership roles and accolades, Melissa currently teaches fabrication and design courses at the A School. Her work connects her to makers across Grounds, Charlottesville, and beyond. See her full bio here.
Kyle Schumann

Assistant Professor
University of Virginia School of Architecture
Kyle Schumann is Cofounder of After Architecture, Co-Director of the Before Building Laboratory at UVA and Co-Curator of the Biomaterial Building Exposition. His work spans analog processes in woodworking, metalworking, casting, ceramics, and textile production, to advanced and novel digital fabrication technologies, robotics, and machine visioning systems. See his full bio here.