Flat Pack Farm Stand

This project for a farm stand in southern California comes from a one week charette that allowed us to begin experimenting with the possibilities of sheet metal in the architectural realm. Our project seeks to create a functional building skin that can be manipulated by the user to create a variety of openings, display areas, and water catchment containers. The entire structure, skin, and roof would hypothetically come flat packed and could be assembled by a small number of people on site. This is our first stab at designing a system that could potentially be applied on a much larger scale.

All steel components for this farm stand come flat packed and ready for assembly including moment frames, facade panels, and roof system. This instructable will show how to fold and construct the middle bay of the farm stand, a technique that can be repeated on the remainder of the building.

After pouring the concrete slab foundation, the first step is to fold and attach each set of steel columns to the joist in order to create a moment frame on which the structural columns will be attached.

Each moment frame is then attached directly to the floor slab as shown.

Each structural panel is made up of four components, that when twisted and lifted, create openings in the facade of the building. This allows users to customize the depth and placement of each opening. In order to keep the opened metal panels secure, struts are placed between the outermost layers.

Begin assembling the facade by attaching a bottom structural panel to the frame. Attach the rest of the bottom panels, leading the the next frame. Working in a zig zag pattern, continue this process until the entire wall is notched together.

Attach corrugated roof panels to each moment frame.

This farm stand consists of three models as seen in the elevation above. Repeat steps 1-6 to complete the full building.