Shaping Light

I took a 3/4″ piece of MDF and kerfed it in 1/4″ increments. I then placed it in a laser cutter with the non-kerfed side facing up and ran several etching operations.

1) Interactive Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, New York 2009, Michael Fox & Miles Kemp, “Sociological and Psychological Implications,” pp136-172

My project’s intent shares a lot with this chapter and I loved the interactive aspects of the architecture and technology represented in it. The “human behavior awareness” is an interesting concept because it highlights the opportunity for “an architectural environment to inform the users of their actions” which can potentially have a profound effect on their behaviors. The touch-sensitive floors and tabletops shown in the text are simple sensory interactions that give users satisfaction and this should be explored and used more.

2) Emergent Technologies and Design: Towards a Biological Paradigm for Architecture, Michael Hensel, Achim Menges, & Michael Weinstock, Routledge, New York 2010

This text goes into great depth about the technological exploration and breakthroughs concerning architecture structures and materials. I find this stuff fascinating in that humans are able to use computers to discover and map out revolutionary means of construction. Forms and structures that were once thought to be unachievable are now being fabricated out of minimalistic materials and in no time. The “Lattices” chapter made me think that these organic looking structures being conceived in computers may soon be made in an organic fashion and this could be tied-in with the “human behavior awareness” technologies to create something magnificent.

3) Ingo Maurer: Designing with Light, Bernhard Dessecker, Prestel Publishing, New York 2008, “Zufall, Licht, und Wasser” pp16-31

Much of Ingo’s work in this book is too bizarre and abstract for my tastes. However, the chapter “Chance, Light, and Water” contains some really interesting installations. Tableau Chinois was compared to my final project and I can see the similarities. Light is projected through a pool with swimming goldfish and mirrors and onto a white wall for some high-contrast imagery. His use of light, mirrors and water in some other installations of his gives of beautiful patterns in motion such as with Plastic Allegory and David is well and alive and living in Los Angeles.

4) Exploring Materials, Inna Alesina & Ellen Lupton, Princeton Architectural Press, New York 2010

This book is a really good and informative read. I especially enjoyed the opportunities noted in lighting with repeated structural patterns such as corrugation and honeycomb in addition to the translucence found in many non-woven textiles [pp102-104]. There’s a fabric that is made by embroidering on water-soluble plastic which is eventually dissolved leaving the translucent non-woven fabric [p77]

5) Studio Olafur Eliasson: An Encyclopedia, Taschen, Italy 2008, pp426-431

Olafur’s vast use of various materials is incredible and he and his studio also utilize computer software resources to come up with remarkable installations. Your Mobile Expectations is one of my favorite works from him not only because of the cool looking outcome, but the processes and materials he used to get to that conclusion. Constructed around a BMW H2R chassis, his team incorporated stainless steel, mirrors, ice, a cooling unit, mono-frequency lights into the installation. A ton of computer calculations and simulations had to be dialed-in prior, and the result was a “complex set of relations and exchanges with the surroundings” where the car structure “would change according to the viewer’s movement and perspective.”

Doing the final report below allowed me to reflect on the process and to record it.  Seeing all the images in a progression was a good lesson in process…keep moving ahead, keep moving, one thing leads to another, to another, to another, and learning happens all along the way.

Screen Device

final board pdf for download

Annotated Bibliography

My final project focused on the manipulation of caustic images.  Much of my early experimentation was focused on the use of color and light, so I was always interested in reintroducing color into this project.  My first experiments were with the form and the way these images could be created.  The most successful being a conic form which created spiral images when light was shone through the larger opening.  From there I began experimenting with materiality and came to use a metallic paper with gold on one side and silver on the other.  I found some of the more opaque materials to be less successful with this phenomenon.  The creation of these caustic images was definitely dependent on the material being translucent.

My final project was a scaled up cone with the light source concealed within the base.  It was effective in creating larger, more impressionable images.  I feel the way I concealed the source within the base prevented the light from playing on the outside of the cone, diminishing its interest.  Also, based on the feedback from the reviewers, I think it would be interesting to find a way to make the tightness of the cone dynamic for the user, almost like a kaleidoscope.  I also find the application of a light tube interesting, and definitely a potential use for this project.

Hauer, Erwin. Continua: Architectural Screen Walls. New York: Princeton Architectural, 2004. Print.

Continua contains selected works of Erwin Hauer’s architectural screens and walls.  His work, especially Design 6 has inspired me in the design of my screens as I tried to achieve some of the effects that Hauer received within his screens.  Within my final project I will be deconstructing one of my screens to design a luminaire that I hope will maintain the same effects I received in my screens

Marietta, Millet. Light Revealing Architecture. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996. Print.

Marietta explores light through a range of architecture. Within these spaces she explains the different type of light and how it is been achieved.  I found Marietta exploration through these spaces to really help me to understand the different types of light and how light can transform spaces.  Within my luminaire I hope to achieve a type of light she explains within her book.

“MoCo Loco.”Light”. Various, 2003. Web. 23 May 2012. <http://mocoloco.com/fresh2/lighting/

The website features modern contemporary design and architecture from the work of various designers throughout the world.  As I am not too familiar with lighting design I found this website to be very inspiring and beneficial as I was able to look at a variety of work that is currently being fabricated.  I thought I was also helpful in the way of thinking  of various way lighting can be created.

Moholy, Nagy. Vision in Motion. Chicago: Paul Theobald. 199-219. Print.

Vision in Motion describes some of the fundamentals of photography and how one may transform a piece by changing its application.  What I found interesting within this excerpt was his quote “…one may paint with light as surely as one can paint with oil and pigment” (199).  The quote made me realize that light can really transform what a user sees.

“MyLight by Projectione.” MoCo Loco Design. 03 Aug. 2010. Web. 23 May 2012. http://mocoloco.com/fresh2/2010/08/03/mylight-by-projectione.php

The article describes a DIY kit that allows one to put together a luminaire from laser-cut Mylar components. Within the article there was also a video in which one could watch how the luminaire is put together. It was from this video that I could really digest how the luminaire works. As the assemblies of my the prototype luminaries were not working to the best that I felt it could be, I was inspired in how there was a kit of parts for the MyLight that a user could put the luminaire together themselves.  Overall I feel like the MyLight has a great concept behind it, however I feel the shape of it is reminiscent of a balloon and could have better potential being a more contemporary shape.

Sosebee, Geoff. “Assignment.04 | FinalLuminaire.” Web log post. WordPress. 16 May 2011. Web. 23 May 2012. <gesose.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/assignment-04-finalluminaire/>.

The blog entry gives images of Geoff Sosebee’s luminiaire he created in the Light and Shadow class last year.  Although there is not much description on this specific blog entry of the final luminarie, one can see Sosebee’s process in creating his final luminaire through the rest of his blog. In this blog entry the images give one a clear idea of how the luminaire is fabricated.  As I was not aware of this project until after my final review, I feel that seeing Sosebee’s process and how his luminaire works has a similar concept to my luminaire.  Moving forward I think I can take ideas from his process and translate it into my project to create a more refined luminaire as he has.

Steadman, Philip. The Geometry of Enviornment. By Lionel March. RIBA Publications Limited. 56-86. Print.

Steadman described and analyzed how geometry can organize space.  In addition he also explored how geometry can be rotated and flipped to create multiple patterns.  This article was most relevant to my project as it allowed me to explore how I can transform geometry to create an interesting pattern.

Swirnoff, Lois. Dimensional Color. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2003. 115-23. Print.

Within the excerpt Awirnoff explores how the hues of individual colors reflect throughout the day.  The excerpt allowed me to understand how color is reflected and how one can experiment with color.   It inspired me in assignment two to experiment with different colors on curved surfaces.

Yen-Wen Cheng, Nancy. Materials and Lighting Effects. 11 Feb. 2010. Web. 11 May 2012. <PDF File>.

The article gives six different ways one can go about experimenting with light and shadow.  The article was very helpful when first looking into the phenomena of light and shadow. It was also great to look back at it for a reference when running into design issue when mocking up a prototype.  Although I felt the categories where all helpful when thinking of light and shadow, ­­the one category that really helped me in my work was the materials category.   As the materials aspect is an important part of my design experimenting, using the different materials listed that bounce color along with Nancy Cheng’s advice helped me move forward and use yupo as my final material choice.

In my final luminaire I took inspiration from my previous prototypes and used Yupo as my final material choice. I took the idea of the tapered pieces I have originally been using in my prototypes and instead of folding them I created slots where pieces could interlock with one another. I was happy with this connection as it does not use glue and it looks a little more elegant then the folded pieces in my original prototypes.  In addition I also overlapped each piece to hide the glare I was had been receiving in my previous luminaires.

I was pretty happy with my final luminaire as I felt it created a layering of washing on the tapered surfaces that I had been very interested in since the beginning of my explorations.  In addition through my final review I had received positive feedback that I hope to further incorporate into my design.  Some of the suggestions include maybe creating a better end condition so the piece does not have a free flowing end. Another suggestion was to create an end condition that can be moved up or down in order to create a dynamic quality to the luminaire so that the pieces can opened up to not have it be as heavy as it seems now.  In addition another suggestion was to have the long strips be at different lengths to again create a more dynamic quality to the luminaire.

Below is a rough perspective of how the luminaire would feel within a space, in this case a cafe.

Annotated Bibliography