mahdi alibakhshian & students install the void at woodbury university

mahdi alibakhshian & students install the void at woodbury university
all images courtesy of gerard smulevich, mahdi alibakhshian

created using perforated strips of aluminum, the ‘void’ pavilion is a complex architectural form both minimal and materially-efficient. the design was created as a collaborative effort between faculty member mahdi alibakhshian — also founding principal of qastic — and students at the woodbury university school of architecture.

black-painted aluminum panelling 

‘void’ is an abstract urban object composed in response to various adjacent elements in its burbank, california campus context. contrast between white and black aluminum, as well as natural light that penetrates the intervention, enable it to differentiate itself from the periphery. the work hopes to blur boundaries between interior and the external urban street by initiating an interesting visual conversation.

from above  

view from adjacent street 

drawing influence from james turrell’s ‘sky frames’ eliminated sections provide distinct views 

the work was created by mahdi alibakhshian and his students at woodbury university school of arch. 

the ‘void’  

sight paths 

context and form 

roof connection 

assembly 

structure

project info:

name: the ‘void’
project advisor: mahdi alibakhshian
collaborators: mohamed noamani, eryanne edgerley, enrique genovez, eric eaken, jennifer partlow
structure: hooman nastarin – nast enterprises
consultants: matthew corbitt, oscar corletto, nathaniel hadley, yasushi ishida, reza zia, lili saliani
special thanks to: Ph.D. marc j. neveu of woodbury university, associate dean ingalill wahlroos-ritter of woodbury university
sponsors: IMS – industrial metal supply co., qastic inc, bobco metals, city of los angeles, CA
volunteers: emily adler, luz auyon, david huerta, fabian jelinewski, lina sembish, rodrigo velasquez-gonzalez, monireh noormamad
photography: gerard smulevich, mahdi alibakhshian

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions  feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.