Duality

This project is a physical exploration of anamorphosis in three dimensions centred around the theme of duality. It aims to combine two widely recognisable figures into a pavilion that will attract burners, provoke debate, and catalyse interaction.

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The theme of this project arose from the realisation that even the most widely recognisable symbols contain multiple layers of meaning and mystery.  Social, historical and sometimes even spiritual contexts give a symbol its perceived meaning. For example, while the Christian cross is a symbol of hope it is literally a scaled representation of an ancient torture device – an icon synonymous with good carries with it a darker elucidation. This interpretation led to the emergence of duality as a topic and a title. There are many symbols which have multiple meanings and nuances to those who interpret them.

I began by looking at the Ankh, the Egyptian symbol for life/fertility. The Loop of the Ankh represents the feminine discipline or the womb, while the elongated section represent the masculine discipline or the penis. These two sacred units then come together and form life. This is a perfect representation of man and woman in perfect union. I then was led to study the symbol for mercury, which is used in botany to indicate a flower with both male and female reproductive organs.

This duality of meaning in symbols led me to the desire to study how I could physically combine other symbols and forms to create one form. Anamorphosis, from the Greek anamorphōsis meaning ‘transformation,’ from ana- ‘back, again’ + morphosis ‘a shaping’, became an interesting opportunity to do just this.

 

I want to explore this theme using the iconic faces of Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian as instigators. From a random vantage point or even from up close, the subject matter of the piece is evidently unclear, the image changes until the viewer arrives at a specific pre-set location, only then does the likeness reveal itself. This echoes our warped perception of figures in limelight; anything the media choose to present to the world is an engineered production and if taken out of its context it becomes incomprehensible. My aim is to stir ambivalence among the burners, for them to engage in discussion with one another about these two incredibly famous personalities and what they seemingly represent.

As a physical entity, the sculpture is purposefully made durable enough to be able to endure the brunt of any elicited reactions. Its exposed surfaces are smooth, an open invitation to graffiti, carve or deface in any manner possible. It is large enough to climb and to gather within as a group – it only takes a spontaneous suggestion from a creative festival goer to give the sculpture another unforeseen use.

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The aim of my proposed sculpture is to provoke an exchange of opinions and interactions between burners. It depicts two iconic and highly controversial public figures who personify two tremendously important issues that we as a society face today; political and social change.

As festival goers approach the installation, and the two widely recognisable faces reveal themselves, comments about the likenesses will spiral inevitably highlighting or at least touching upon the shift that these two personalities represent.

The sculpture’s physical form comprises of several spatial elements that lend themselves to fostering the kind of debates that I wished to promote. The hollow centre creates an enclosure, to enable hosting or housing for a meeting, it gives its participants a sense of protection; this is an open forum, please take part. The raised base on the peripheries can act as stages or podia. The expansive smooth external surfaces can act as billboards or banners, the skin of the sculpture will bear the physical outcome of the issues discussed here.

Whether people get photographed with it, or whether they deface, damage or even burn it to the ground, I will have succeeded if among any of the interactions the agenda was heard and a heartfelt reaction was made.

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The sculpture will be made of 8mm CNC routed plywood sheets fixed to a heavy plywood formwork. Standing at 6m tall, one side will represent a 25:1 scale stencilled portrait of president-elect Donald Trump, the other side; the likeness of reality television personality and socialite Kim Kardashian. Much like the oblique anamorphosis incorporated in Holbien’s The Ambassadors, the sculpture’s subject matters will reveal themselves only from some 60m away, but from close up, the installation will seem like a mass of abstract wooden extrusions, something suggestive of an adult-sized climbing frame. Fluorescent LEDs recessed into junctions of the outer plywood skin layer will illuminate the piece at night.

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The pavilion achieves the incredible feat of allowing the viewer to have a personal and intimate connection with it whilst also allowing for reflection. The two images are intended to bring moments of delight to viewers to allow for interaction even from a distance.

Combined with its symbolic and evocative power, it should indeed conjure a deeper sense of place and self, and bring a subtlety and complexity to what might have been just another pavilion.

 

TriNect

The aim is to generate an architectural response through a playful loop between the digital and the physical. Digital tools such as Rhino and Grasshopper are used  in order to carry out analysis and generate buildable three-dimensional forms. Interplay between physical fabrication and digital experiments enable to become an inventor of a system. Here is mine.

TriNect is a flexible system of triangular elements with slots at their vertices. Elements interlock with one another creating different space filling polyhedra. The system can be applied in various scales and adapted for different needs.

TriNect

‘Entwine’ – Submission for Burning Man 2016

INSTALLATION SUBMISSION TO BURNING MAN 2016 – ‘Entwine’

Entwine is a timber frame structure which has been developed through rigorous physical and digital testing to ensure a safe climbing frame for all to enjoy. When exploring Entwine, the vast expanse of the playa is framed through beautiful intertwining curved plywood beams. Burners can view the event from glorious vantage points nestled amidst multiple communal spaces that encourage interaction and play.

The structure predominantly consists of strips of curved plywood which have been connected together using pioneering construction techniques, specifically the utilisation of conflicting forces, similar to those apparent in ‘Tensegrital’ design. Drawing inspiration from Leonardo Da Vinci and his various experimentations with physical form, ‘Entwine’ is a marvel of geometry. The piece is formed from an arrangement of 19 octahedral components, each consisting of six beams, which are paired and positioned upon one of three axis. These three elements represent the unity of man, nature and the universe that surrounds us.

Each modular component is tessellated to form an octahedral space frame structure. The rigidity resulting from this tessellation is in direct contrast to the curving structural beams which exude an organic aesthetic. As Burners view Entwine from different aspects, a remarkable array of different patterns and forms are revealed, many bearing resemblance to sacred geometry, specifically the Flower of Life, which was a significant study within Leonardo Da Vinci’s work.

Entwine is unorthodox in its composition, and this is a contributing factor to what makes it so unique: Each module is constructed through tensioning layers of ¼ inch thick plywood, which are then mechanically fixed together when a desired radius has been reached. By laminating the plywood in this manner, each component retains its curvature but remains in compression. These conflicting forces are integral to the design of Entwine: Each octahedral module is constructed from these compressed plywood elements, and are held together with tensioning ropes creating a structure of isolated components in compression within a net of continuous tension.The form of the structure is based on the octahedron, which is a Platonic solid composed of eight equilateral triangles; four of which meet at each vertex. One of the eight triangles acts as a base for the structure. This results in one edge creating a small cantilever, whilst the counter edge can be anchored to the ground. As previously studied by Buckminster Fuller, the geometry of an octahedron is particularly good at forming space frames with a strong cantilevers.

The participatory aspect of the installation voids the role of the ‘spectator’ and creates more active engagement. In many of Leonardo Da Vinci’s paintings, his subjects are framed by surreal, dreamlike landscapes. This is reflected within Entwine: As Burners become part of the installation, they are framed by the awe inspiring backdrop of Black Rock Desert: In many ways Entwine becomes the artist, the playa the canvas, and Burners the subjects.

“the artist is not a special sort of person, but every person is a special sort of artist.”

This is not only true in the sense of physical involvement but during the construction the ‘spectator’ becomes involved in making strategic decisions in the realisation of the work of art. The development, design and construction of the project embodies the principles of self-reliance and self-expression, whilst a proposal that is safe, interactive and beautiful will be gifted to the community at Burning Man.

Entwine’s curving form will be illuminated using LED spot lights to enhance the organic patterning existent within the structure. This allows the full form of the structure to be fully visible.

Thousand Line Construction

Thousand Line Construction :

Hamish Macpherson

A spatial exploration into the interplay of materials, construction techniques, and delicate and precise design.

Inspired by Hanakago; the craft of Japanese Bamboo basketry, to celebrate the western discovery of tea and its associated culture during the renaissance.

 

 

 

 

 

Bending Lattice System

My initial studies stemmed from researching into Stellation. This, in simple terms, is the process of extending  polygon in two dimensions, polyhedron in three dimensions, or, in general, a polytope in n dimensions, to form a new figure. Through researching the application of this process, I came across the sculptures created by George Hart, as he has experimented with stellated geometries to which are subdivided to create mathematical interweaving structures.

My Research into the method and calculations of George Hart’s Mathematical Sculpture’s focused on the sculpture ‘Frabjous’. Through rigorous testing and model making I have understood the rules behind the complex form. This is based on the form of a stellated icosahedron, whose shape is contained within a dodecahedron.

Lines are drawn from one point, to a point mirrored at one edge of the face of the dodecahedron form – as shown in the diagram. This creates intersecting lines at each face as you can see from the diagrams below. Each dividing line has two intersection points, with symmetry at the center of the line. The sculpture aims to avoid the intersections of these lines by introducing a sine curve with the domain 0 to 2*pi. As you can see, each component is exactly the same – for this model, 30 components are used.

`To simplify the construction of the sculpture, I extracted a build-able section which uses ten components in total. Two of these sections are then weaved together and joined up by a further ten single components to form the entire sculpture.

Following this research, I extracted the concept of avoiding the intersection and subdivided a cube with lines from each corner of the cube. These lines were then weaved around eachother using a sine curve with a domain of 0 to pi. I then mirrored the curves and rotated them to create an intertwining form.

Another test was created with the same process, however subdividing a cube using the midpoint of each face. – This creates an octahedral geometry.

Using this interweaving geometry, I have created different three dimensional arrays to create a spatial form. The concept of avoiding intersections naturally cause a structure to fail. To form a structurally efficient version of this geometry, I introduced the idea of a reciprocal structure, and allowed the beams to self support by resting on eachother. This did not create a structure strong enough to stand on, however through adding a cube whose dimensions are equal to the width of the beams, the structure became very strong.

Testing the component at a small scale required the design of a joint which allowed me to assemble these components together through interlocking elements. Each beam element slots into the joint; When two joints and two beams are connected together the curves naturally stay in place due to the angle cut into the joint. Three of these connected elements together form the component.

As mentioned previously, avoiding intersections create inefficient structures – For this small scale experimentation, the concept of Tensegrity was implemented. Tensegrity is a structural principle based on using isolated compression components within a net of continuous tension, allowing the compression members to not need to touch each other. This model was constructed using 1.5mm plywood which has been laser cut; the modularity of the system ensures minimal material wastage.

The three dimensional array of this geometry creates many interesting shapes and patterns when viewed from different angles – this is visible in the following video:

 

 

 

 

Moiré Patterns

Dutch Invertuals – ‘Cohesion’

Moiré patterns are superimposed secondary patterns created when two static surface patterns are overlaid one on top of the other. By displacing or rotating one or both patterns a new visual pattern becomes visible separate to the geometry of the first two. This moiré effect is created in the eye of the viewer, disparate from the shapes formed by the individual patterns themselves.

A moiré pattern generated by overlapping two identical patterns of concentric circles

Associated mathematical formulas can be used to determine the size and spacing of inferred moiré patterns from a series of regularly spaced overlaid patterns. The beauty of the moiré effect is the illusion of movement created through completely static overlays. This forms a naturally interactive experience for the participant, giving over control to the superimposed pattern through visual movement and rotation.

Physical Moiré experiments

The video above illustrates the moiré effect in two dimensions by overlaying static linear and concentric patterns, printed on acetate, and manipulating their motion and rotation in order to create a new visual pattern.

Concentric and Linear patterns, printed on acetate overlays

This effect is not restricted to two dimensional patterns but can also be applied in three dimensions. These spatial patterns then utilise the motion of the viewer in order to manipulate the moiré effect. The video below illustrates how three dimensional sculpted elements, set on separate spatial planes can form a visual pattern and take advantage of simple motions by the viewer.

Scale model of the facade for Brisbane Girls School Creative Learning Centre – M3 Architects

The two primary resultant effects from the physical experiment above illustrate the potential of moiré to create alternate visual patterns and to generate the illusion of movement. These were then applied digitally to create an animation that controls these aspects to create a recognisable representation of motion to the viewer, as opposed to an abstract pattern.

Digital testing of the moiré effect in animation

The above digital animation illustrates the rotational movement of a circle through the movement of a linear overlay, created with the two static images below:

  The linear moiré overlay      

The moiré underlay  creating the circular motion 

This moiré underlay is created through a series of rules defined by the size of the overlay and the direction, factor and type of movement (linear or rotational). The diagram below explores the rules associated with this specific type of moiré animation.

Rules for defining a moiré ‘underlay’ for linear animation

Whilst primarily a visual effect it is the ability to translate spatially which gives the moiré effect the potential to be applied in a design context, particularly given it’s interactive nature and the reliance on the involvement of participants in order to reveal it’s true beauty.

The video below takes this concept to the extreme, exploring the effects of imagining matter as nothing more than multi-dimensional moiré patterns……

Moiré – Julias Horsthuis

Updated Research:

Video illustrating various physical moiré experiments

Rules for defining moiré patterns in linear gratings

Mathematical rules for defining moiré patterns of rotation

Physical model for experimenting with moiré rotation patterns

Results from the physical model using sin curves & square gratings

Moiré patterns can be ‘programmed’ using a certain mathematical formula. If two variables are known; the base layer and the desired moiré pattern (in this instance a sin curve) the resultant reveal layer can be determined, allowing moiré patterns to be programmed to any shape.

Digital tests and physical proofs of programming moiré

Moiré patterns work in both ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ constructions. Positive moiré can be classed as additive, constructing patterns consisting of lines to create the effect. Negative moiré conversely removes elements of material (in this instance circles from card) to create patterns when held at a distance. The bottom row of images shows the most successful variables for discerning negative moiré patterns.

Negative moiré, set-up & physical experiment

The above experiment was digitally reproduced, modelling its negative space in order to understand how the variables of distance affect the reception of pattern.

Digital experiments with distance variables

In order to move from the plane into a spatial exploration of the moiré effect, sin curve gratings were mapped onto the faces of a cube, at varied rotations. The effect is a spatial understanding of moiré patterns when the various faces of the cube overlap. The moiré effect can be created by two distinct methods; a movement by the user, distorting the areas of overlap and the movement of the cube itself, visually shifting patterns.

Physical model exploring moiré patterns in three dimensions