Boxel

A voxel (volumetric pixel or Volumetric Picture Element) is a volume element, representing a value on a regular grid in three-dimensional space. To a certain extent, the brick is architecture’s first voxel. However the inherent absence of gravity in the digital environment (and the existence of it in our own) has made the brick and the voxel rarely cross conceptual paths.

In collaboration with students at Tulane University School of Architecture, full scale experiments in Boxelization were explored during a 3 day A-Week workshop.

This project collapsed the building unit, in the form of 1,000 – 12”x12”x12” corrugated boxes and the voxel, to produce a full-scale study model — a Boxel! The installation was installed on the Tulane Quad.

BOXEL from Rael San Fratello on Vimeo.

Project Date: 2014
Design Team: Ronald Rael and Tulane Architecture Students: Jack Waterman, Adam Sheilds, Haley Lindsley, Calla Bardwell, Blair Begbie, Carly Bowman, Shuang Ding, Chris Dunn, Calvin Gallion, III, Laura Gil, Lindsay Girardeau, Paul Holmes, Stuart Hurt, Shira Latch, David Maples, Wyler Murray, Sarah Narrow, Rachel Neu, Olivia Pontiff, Annika Schneider, Katherine Schuff, James Scott, Sanaa Shaikh, Paul Zamorano
Additional Project Information: Boxel was constructed as part of Tulane School of Architecture A-Weekend