From Liquid to Stone features a prototype of Pixelframe, a modular concrete construction system designed for a future where buildings are transformed from static endpoints of material into intelligent reusable assemblies. It challenges the linear building economy by combining reversible and efficient design with digital traceability, generating a shaped module to assemble into diverse structures. Each module is paired with a digital twin, juxtaposing architecture’s concrete nature with a synthetic shadow. In a future where buildings are seen as stockpiles for reuse, the reimagination of concrete structures necessitates a new tectonic. Concrete is no longer a liquid, but is more akin to stone, retaining value across multiple lifespans.
Participants
INGE DONOVAN, JENNA SCHNITZLER, CAITLIN MUELLER, KEITH J LEE, AND PITIPAT WONGSITTIKAN NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA; NEW YORK AND CAMBRIDGE, USA Inge Donovan, Halifax, Canada, 1997. Lives and works in Nova Scotia, Canada. Jenna Schnitzler, Richmond, USA, 1997. Lives and works in New York, USA. Caitlin Mueller, New Brunswick, USA, 1984. Lives and works in Cambridge, USA. Keith J Lee, Seoul, South Korea, 1994. Lives and works in Cambridge, USA. Pitipat Wongsittikan, Bangkok, Thailand, 1998. Lives and works in Cambridge, USA.
Authorial collaborators
Emily Liu
Technical collaborators
Garrett Vercoe, SPOLIA (digital atecnicapplication); Eric Duong, SPOLIA (digital application); Shah Paul, MIT School of Architecture and Planning (steel fabrication); Stephen Rudolph, MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (testing); David Pankhurst (fabrication); Michael Moreland, Ironbound Rigging (steel rigging); Patrick Barton, Barton Machining (steel fabrication); Will Reeves (precast fabrication); Hazel Mann (development)
Thanks
Digital Structures Research Group; MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium; Tim Eliassen, TriPyramid Structures
