News

Trahan New York studio member Michael Pryor has released a custom plugin for Grasshopper with over 65 new computational tools. The plugin was specifically developed as part of the Millwork BIM modeling effort Trahan Architects has led on the Alliance Theatre. The Alliance Theatre Chamber uses over 170,053 linear feet of ½” x ½” oak slat cladding. Each slat’s centerline is parametrically controlled using the tools found within the Pufferfish plugin. The oak slat cladding system was developed by a collaborative effort between artist Matthias Pliessnig and Trahan Architects. The Pufferfish plugin translates many of the physical operations used by Matthias’s steam bending process into a digitally controlled environment. Techniques such as blending between control curves on a surface, respecting minimum and maximum slat spacing are all crucial computational protocols implemented into Pufferfish.

The Owensboro-Daviess County Convention Center in Owensboro, KY, by Trahan Architects, was honored with the AIA Chicago 2017 Distinguished Building Honor Award, the highest form of recognition. The jury included Brad Cloepfil (Allied Works), Louise Braverman (Braverman Architects) and Paul Mankins (Substance Architecture). View all winners here.

In an excerpt from an article in the Chicago Tribune it was noted that “In the distinguished building category, two projects won honor awards, the highest form of recognition. They were the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention Center in Owensboro, KY, by Trahan Architects, and the Seven Oaks horse farm in St. Charles, by JAHN.”

As a participant in the Van Alen Institute’s International Council Fall Summit 2017, Trey Trahan will partake in a Design Charrette on Density & Civic Participation co-hosted by Van Alen Institute and Red Bull Station in Sao Paulo Brazil.

About the Institute:

At Van Alen Institute, we believe design can transform cities, landscapes, and regions to improve people’s lives.

We collaborate with communities, scholars, policymakers, and professionals on local and global initiatives that rigorously investigate the most pressing social, cultural, and ecological challenges of tomorrow.

Building on more than a century of experience, we develop cross disciplinary research, provocative public programs and inventive design competitions.

Our environments shape every aspect of our lives, though we do not yet fully understand how. We must develop a better understanding of how we are affected by them, and work hard to improve those environments for people everywhere.

Design is a crucial tool for tackling complex social, ecological, and cultural challenges. It is a tool for analysis, breaking down seemingly intractable problems into their constituent parts. Design can identify and define problems, and propose new solutions. It can communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively, allowing people to visualize a different future and the steps it will take to enable that change.