Photo: Joe MacDonald
Bone Wall
Urban A&O, 2006
Inspired by the work of Austrian-born sculptor Erwin
Hauer, the ambition of this experiment was continuity
of surface and modulation of light within the wall,
in addition to providing programmatic elements
including storage and seating. The design of Bone
Wall began with parametric modeling of a base “cell,”
or rather half cell, which was then inverted and
rotated to combine into a complete cellular unit. The
base cell has a total of eighteen corners, or “control
points.” Any change made to the geometry of the
splines regenerates the shape of each cell, demonstrating
both a nonlinear and reciprocal relationship between
software and designer that is intrinsic to parametric,
or parameter-based, modeling. A total of seventy-two
cells—or 2,592 control points, all parametrically
linked—combine to make up the wall.
The cells were fabricated in high-density foam
on a five-axis CNC mill. On close inspection, the
router’s tool path can be seen on the surface of
the wall: it is not entirely smooth to the touch. The
milling machine was set on a1 32-inch step-over,
resulting in a topographic planlike finish. The cells
were then joined together by hand with adhesive,
and the final wall was painted following assembly.
In its use of parametric modeling,Bone Wall
is as an experiment toward the advancement of
contemporary architectural practice. Parametric-
modeling environments shape new cognitive
ambiences within which design procedure is
conceived.Bone Wall strives to demonstrate ornament’s
intrinsic necessity over extrinsic contingency.
 1 3

1 CATIA model of “powercopy.”

2 CATIA screen grab describing instantiation of powercopy.
3 Scaled 3D print of portion of wall.
4 CATIA production model for routing modules in sections
to fit Z axis of machine.
5 CNC routing of MDF modules.
6 Routed modules ready to be cut out from MDF block.
7 Assembly process.
8 Modules.
9 Wall assembly.
Photos: Joe MacDonald

4 5 6

7 9

8
Contouring:Bone Wall 096/097

ABOVE:
Drawing of sections for CNC routing of a single module.
BELOW:
Details of foam cells.
Photos: Joe MacDonald
Views of completed project at Storefront for Art and Architecture.
Photos: Stefan Hagen

Design 306
Erwin Hauer and Enrique Rosado, 2005
Created in 2005,Design 306is a modification of
Design 6, originally made in 1956. It is the result of a
collaboration between Erwin Hauer and Enrique
Rosado, and it was designed for the Centria, a new
high-rise residential building within New York’s
Rockefeller Center.
Unlike its predecessor,Design 306was conceived
for developing tool paths executed on a three-axis
CNC mill, and it can be produced in a variety of
materials. The first application, at the Centria, was
made from Indiana limestone, but other stones and
materials, such as MDF, may also be used. The size of
098/099
All photos: Courtesy Erwin Hauer
the panels may vary to suit architectural needs and
constraints. Panel sizes may be as large as ten feet by
four feet, while the dimensions of the modules within
the pattern are currently fourteen inches high by
eleven inches wide. This ratio can be preserved, even
as adjustments in scale are possible.
The design addressed an architectural situation
in which transparency was undesirable but the
modulation of light important. Perforations for
the passage of light are therefore reduced to recessed,
concave spaces.