ABSTRACT
This chapter describes explorations of more experimental processes for metal forming, which are seeking to pair its incredible flexibility with an architectural identity. Metals require a layer of post-processing after cutting adding significant production time compared with wood. Laser-cutters require significantly more investment to reach the strength where they are capable of cutting through thicker metal. Richard Serra's work with massive pieces of rolled steel, most vividly manifest in his Torqued Ellipses helps define methods for developing an idea of craft around metals, and methods for working with materials at scale. Serra frames his ideas in an elegant and stoically stereotomic way, where both machine and material have an effect on the outcome of his designs. Serra developed the forms for his Torqued Ellipses through small-scale studies in wood, discovering how ellipses can be twisted on one another to create stable forms.
