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d.r.a.Lab – Center for Design Research in Architecture

By Robert Brackett

"The d.r.a.Lab, Pratt School of Architecture Center for Design Research in Architecture, would like to showcase a collection of our projects that explore novel methods for design-making architecture. We do research into transdisciplinary methods for integrating Geometry, Materials, and fabrication methods to prototype full-scale architectural interventions. Our work with students produces interventions that challenge students with a Design Research methodology to create an Activation or Architecture as a cultural medium for engaging people on topics of design, sustainability, and the future of building.

We have a series of curated posters outlining nearly a decade of research, including emerging projects that use super lightweight pneumatic formwork to produce high-performance concrete structures that help to reimagine and rebuild NYC's urban waterfronts. Robert Brackett and Ducks Koshitz would like to display our posters and some physical prototypes. The concrete and folded metal structures would need to be transported from Thrift Hall on the Main Campus to the Navy Yard and back.

Our work aligns most with the Innovation in Industry category as we explore geometrical control of material systems, computation-based design, and digital fabrication technologies from the architecture and construction industry. "

An image of a pavilion structure made of hexagonal white panels connected in a grid-like formation. The open-air structure curves upward, casting complex honeycomb shadows on the wooden floor. Below, a diagram shows hands lifting a scale model of the structure and an exploded view of its layered construction. Text credits the design to Victoria Delgado and Professors Duks Koschitz + Robert Brackett III.
A poster titled
A design research board for a furniture-like inflatable form. The left panel shows the piece styled as a coffee table, and the right includes sequential photos of spraying materials onto an inflatable mold. The layout features design diagrams, folding pattern prototypes, manufacturing process photos, and a placeholder for text about geometry, materials, and production.
A board titled
Titled
An inflatable black dome-shaped structure composed of interlocking floral-like inflated cells stands inside an industrial space. Next to it, a translucent, white, cocoon-like inflatable structure with radial seams is installed on a glossy floor. Text at the bottom reads:
A vertical poster titled

  • Robert Brackett

    Robert is an architecturally trained designer-maker and educator.  He operates a multi-disciplinary design practice, Miscellaneous Projects, llc, founded in 2012 with Laura Coombs, as a platform for exploring ways of…