Instant Cabin

Instant Cabin

Exhibit Structure

Students:  Nic Rader (G), Marcel Botha (G), Maggy Nelson (UG), Diana Nee,(UG) W. Victoria Lee (UG)

Year: 2005

The Instant Cabin is a structure prefabricated of one material (plywood) assembled with muscle and rubber mallets. Nails, screws or glue are not needed for assemble and support. The project combines CAD technology with computer numerically controlled machinery to build a complete house from computer models and raw plywood sheets with no drawings or paper documents. The computer is used to convert a simple house form into an assortment of special shapes and components each complete with a number. The designer builds a computer model in 3D, flattens the objects to a horizontal position in CAD then sends the each component to a computer-controlled router for cutting. Joinery between components is so precise that all parts stay together by friction alone.