Dilated Buoyancy

The project was conceived with larger applications in mind. Intended to become a component of a composition consisting of multiple bulges, the form would hover over an entire ceiling or wall within a space.
I hope to pursue this and execute a larger and refined
version of this idea.

The form is created using fishing bobbers which are suspended by acrylic rod. the bobbers increase in height and number as they approach the center of the light source and its highest intensity, creating the illusion that light is acting as a physical force . The illumination source is a strip of six LED’s which are inset into three acrylic sheets forming the base of the fixture. I believe the source is too strong and the project would benefit from a decrease in the lighting power. The acrylic sheets channel the light very effectively and produce a blend of white and orange light which glows and disperses from the edges creating a warm boundary.

As we talked about in the review, I believe I didn’t execute the intended affect to degree I was looking for. I had set out to create a fixture that appeared to be affected physically by light. Having the bobbers multiply towards the center may have been the wrong idea, and in fact the opposite may be a better approach. An overall decrease in the number of bobbers may also help.

Another element that I was interested in is allowing the design to be kinetic. Instead of shaping the bobbers form and setting them permanently, it could be interesting to allow an outside force to form them. One option could be to simply align them on a uniform grid and allowing wind to affect them, creating ripples. I think setting this along side a busy street would be one setting that could create a dynamic interaction between the setting and the bobbers. If I was to display the peace in doors a simple fan panning back and forth would provide this affect also. Possibly the most interesting kinetic idea would be to arrange a series of fans behind the grid which varied in diameter and power, but were organized to create a design.

Overall this was a very rewarding project, one in which I am still passionately involved in and hope to pursue further.

Annotated Bibliography

Schmidt, Petra. Stattmann, Nicola. “Hairy Chair.” Charles Kaisin. Unfolded. Germany: Birkhauser Verlag AG, 2009. Print
I found the project Hair Chair by Charles Kaisin to be very interesting and relevant to my project. He the form of a chair through an aggregation of uniform strips of newspaper. This allows your eye to build the form through its suggestive nature.

Shaw, Jessica. “Hoar Frost.” Weibel, Peter. Gregor, Jansen. Light Art from Artifical Light. Germany: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2006. Print
The projects is matrix of plastics rods which encompass a fluorescent tube light. The design creates an interesting gradient as light extends through the rods.

Iwomoto, Lisa. Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Techniques. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2009. Print.
The author has organized a wide range of projects by form making techniques. The scope of the book focuses on the emerging digital technologies being utilized by architects to create and fabricate their ideas. This is the most comprehensive and in depth collection of works within this realm that I have been able to find. The project I found most intriguing was Mafoombey, a cubic volume of corrugated cardboard that creates organic spaces through subtraction and stacking of layers. Im investigating possible strategies in creating the appearance of a monolithic form which uses light to reveal complexity within the object. Designers Martti Kalliala, Esa Ruskeepaa and Martin Lukascyk have created a beautiful space that is even more intriguing do to its simple construction.

“stay down champion, stay down.” mollyhunker.com Dec. 2010.

Molly Hunker’s installations are very tectonic and through the use of pixels and vivid colors she breaks up simple forms, creating a multifaceted design. The “stay down champion, stay down” installation breaks up a landscape into hundreds of squares which are supported by acrylic rods lit from below. The pure repetition and volume of of the pixels allows your eye to builds the underlying form. Though here fabrication methods are more primitive than many of the other works I’m researching, the end result is very similar.

“BanQ: Office dA.” Archdaily.com, 3 Dec. 2009.
26 April. 2011.
The article provides a very in depth presentation of the BanQ restaurant project done by Office dA. Compared to Lisa Iwomoto’s critiques, this is a much more architectural review which focuses more on the building than the pure form and the methods in which it was derived. I found the striated wood-slat system to by especially intriguing and relevant to my project. The voids allow for a more stimulating form compared to a solid mass. The design drips and moves along the entire ceiling turning into columns where needed. The overall shape, which is a very organic surface, is a reflection of the mechanical systems in which it is concealing. The design at first seems to be very complicated and superficial, but as the author has presented it is fueled by a more functional need.

“Diploid Lamp Series.” matsysdesign.com, 19, Nov. 2009.
26 April 2011.
Matsys design was established in 2004 by Andrew Kudless. They are focused on the interaction between multiple fields including architecture, engineering, biology and computation.The website is a comprehensive representation of their designs and methodologies. The Diploid lamp is constructed using some 1000 individual parts made from paper using no glue, due to a simple locking tab system. Derived using parametric modeling, the form rotates along its vertical axis, creating beautiful gradients and shadows. This piece is truly amazing in the way it combines a complicated form with a simple module. I found there work to have a similar scope as that present in the Digital Fabrication book written by Lisa Iwomoto.

“FLUX: Architecture in a Parametric Landscape.” matsydesign.com 25, June 2009.
26 April 2011
FLUX is an installation at CCA done by faculty and students. The final product serves as a display surface for students to present work and was conceived through an investigation in parametric landscapes. The author presents a very thorough explanation of the projects goals and its final outcome. As a means of production the form was simplified in order to be assembled in layers and present flat services for structural and presentation needs. I found this to be relevant to the other projects I’ve researched and my own interests for our class project. I find the relationship between complex organic forms and the way in which they can be simplified and realized to be very interesting.