Love Nest

The Heart is an internationally known Symbol for Love.

The Love Nest is a Pavilion designed for Burning Man as a destination to express your Love to another. Wedding ceremonies will take place within the Heart structure, this is the biggest gesture of Love, joining together as one, declaring your Love for everyone to see

The wooden hearts floating toward the sky create a Tower of Love

 

Inside the Love Nest

1:20 Model and Heart Bending

Love Nest – Night Time

 

Developing the Love Nest

The origin of the Heart Symbol

Symbols as a System

At Burning Man within the Temple (also known as the Temple of Love) people leave messages to remember there loved ones that they have lost, the temple is then burnt so the messages can get to those who are being remembered. The Idea of the below design was inspired by a book, being a place of words, people add to the pages of the book of love.

Interlocking Hearts – Heart Tower

The Tower

Every time someone is married within the Tower a coloured heart is added to the Structure. 

Progression of the Form

Developing the design to be more fluid and natural, as love isn’t hard and spiky.

Bending Hearts

Looking at different ways of bending wooden Hearts to be able to work with the newly designed form and being able to attach to the ‘Ribs’ of the design. I looked at two ways of achieving this:

Laser Cutting

By laser cutting a line pattern into the heart I achieved a material that bends easily

Cutting and folding

Cutting a slit from the bottom of the heart to the centre and taking the two half and bending one on top of the other

Results – The Laser Heart bent easily but did not stay in place and became more fragile whereas the folded heart keeps its shape and is a more solid form

The Love Nest – Initial Renders

The Love Nest – Initial Model

 

Folding Hearts – Further Research

Looking at what effects the curvature of the heart.

Variable – Length of cut for bending

Results – The Longer the cut the smoother the curve

 

Final Design – Love Nest

The Final Design looks at creating a form by connecting the folding hearts, removing the structural ‘Ribs’ from the previous design and creating a system to achieve a Form

Love Nest – Final Model

Love Nest – Internal Views

Love Nest – Lighting

Love Nest – Night Time

3 Days left to help us with the Tangential Dreams Crowdfunding Campaign

Hello WeWantToLearn community. We’re going to Burning Man in less than a month!

Our project this year will be a physical manifestation of our collective dreams and is called Tangential Dreams.  It is a seven meters high temporary timber tower displaying inspiring messages from around the world, written on a multitude of swirling “tangents”.

We need your help to realise our project! There is only three days left to collect the missing £5,000 on our crowdfunding campaign to finance the many expenses associated with the creation of such an ambitious project.

Please click on the image below or use the following shortlink to share/help – everything helps: http://kck.st/28KlbPk 🙂

 

 

The project is a climbable sinuous tower made from off-the-shelf timber and digitally designed via algorithmic rules. One thousand “tangent” and light wooden pieces, stenciled with inspiring sentences, are strongly held in position by a helicoid sub-structure rotating along a central spine which also forms a safe staircase to climb on. Each one of the poetic branches faces a different angle, based on the tangent vectors of a sweeping sine curve. In line with this year’s theme, the piece is reminiscent of Leonardo’s Vitruvian man’s movement, helicoid inventions such as the “aerial screw” helicopter and Chambord castle helicoid staircase as well as his deep, systematic, understanding of the rules behind form to create art. From a wave to a flame all the way to a giant desert cactus, the complex simplicity of the art piece will trigger many interpretations, many dreams.

The art piece attempts to maximize an inexpensive material by using the output of an algorithm – (the value of the piece being the mathematics behind it, as well as the experience, not the materials being used). The computer outputs information to locate the column, sub-structure and tangents.  We believe digital tools in design are giving rise to a new Renaissance, in which highly sophisticated designs, mimicking natural processes by integrating structural and environmental feedback, can be achieved at a very low cost. We worked very closely with our structural engineer format, sharing our algorithms, to give structural integrity to the piece and resist the strong climbing and wind loads. There are now three “legs” to our proposal, each rotated from each other at 60 degrees angles around a central solid spine, to ensure the stability of the piece, similarly to a tripod. The tangents are not just a decoration, they act as a spiky balustrade to prevent people from falling.

We have a fantastic team for the project:  Philip Olivier, Eira Mooney, Maialen Calleja, Aaron Porterfield, Sebastian Morales, Antony Dobrzensky, Laura Nica, Karina Pitis, Hamish Macpherson, Jon Goodbun, Yannick Yamanga, Matthew Springer ,Josh NG ,Lola Chaine, Dror BenHay, Peter Wang, Charlotte Chambers, Michael DiCarlo, Sandy Kwan.

 

We want our structure to have an intangible aspect, a magical side, one that is beyond matter and geometry. We want to connect our art with every each of you and make you part of our own BIG DREAM, building Tangential Dreams.

 

We use physical modelling as a way to understand how the pieces fit together, the best assembly sequence as well as the structural integrity of the project. It takes time, material, money to create a truly original project.

 

Gif Animation of the assembly process. the project will take two weeks to pre-cut and assemble together with volunteers. We need your help for all the expenses.

 

 

Exciting rewards to thank you for your supports! from top left to bottom right: Pendants, Earrings, T-Shirts, Tangents, Vase, Ceiling Panels, 3D Printed Smoke Stool, Full Physical Model.

 

 

Pursuit Kickstarter / DS10 Featured in ‘The Architects Newspaper’.

Following an interview with journalist Jason Sayer (@jsayer94) The Kickstarter Campaign for my project ‘Pursuit’ has been featured in an article for ‘The Architects Newspaper’.  The article  has been published online at ‘The Architects Newspaper’ website and can be viewed by clicking the following link: An architecture course built around Burning Man and students finding ways to fund their projects.. The Architect’s Newspaper serves up news and inside reports to a niche community of architects, designers, engineers, landscape architects, lighting designers, interior designers, academics, developers, contractors, and other parties interested in the built urban environment. The Architect’s Newspaper delivers quality news and cultural reporting through print, web, blog, newsletter, or twitter—all the news you want, in all the ways you want to get it.

There are only 5 days left to support the campaign and ensure that DS10 student work is represented at this years Burning Man Festival. We have a long way to go to reach our goal by May 16th at 9pm (BST), it is still acheivable – But we can’t do it without our loyal WWTL subscribers and fans, so please head over to the Pursuit Kickstarter Campaign page now and support the project in whatever capacity you can.

Thank you,

Joshua

 

PURSUIT Kickstarter Launched!

KICKSTARTER VIDEO & CAMPAIGN LINK: http://kck.st/1qGLHSw

PURSUIT is an interactive art installation that celebrates humanity’s ongoing quest for Peace, Freedom and Joy – in Life, Love and Art. The design aims to create an interactive and unique sculptural playground for visitors of the 2016 Burning Man Festival, which takes place from August 28th to September 5th in Black Rock Desert, Nevada.

THE PROJECT

PURSUIT emerges from the playa in tiers of intertwined timber elements that ascend seamlessly in unison to form a series of congregation and celebratory spaces. The final design is the result of a year-long study into the sensuous geometry generated from a mathematical theory known as Pursuit Curvature. This theory was explored as I wanted to utilise something that could fully embody the notion of people coming together from different places and striving towards a common goal. With Pursuit Curvature, each point starts at a unique position of a polygon, and moves incrementally towards the nearest adjacent point until they all converge in the centre. The path travelled is directly influenced by the points around it, so the final curves represent the effects all of the points have on one another as a group.

Central Space

Burners can rest inside the ornate central space of Pursuit, which frames the ongoings of the playa and provides burners with a place of respite from the open sun. The six inhabitable pillars connect the playa directly to the platforms that lie atop Pursuit. Here, a glorious vantage point in which to congregate and take in the festival is gifted to Burners. During the day the interiors of the pillars are concealed from the elements, and their curved form helps to guides burners ascent to the open air. Here they can bathe in the wondrous light of either sunrise or sunset, a truly magical playa experience indeed.

At night time each pillar’s interior is powerfully lit to envelop the burners in light, so they can experience a sense of weightlessness and freedom. The soft glow emanating from each of the pillars’ cores invites burners to commune atop Pursuit to celebrate the radiant beauty of the night sky.

OUR PURSUIT

Interior of each Pillar

“As I look back on my life, I realise that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.” – Steve Maroboli. 

Pursuit is a gift to the Burning Man community. Every year, we apply for funding from the Black Rock City LLC (Burning Man) to help fund our projects. Unfortunately this year, nobody received funding towards their project. Despite initial disappointment, I realised that this helped elevate the project’s intent and concept to a new level than originally planned. By crowdfunding the entirety of the project, we can manifest the collective Pursuit of people from all over the world to see this project built. This is not only tremendously exciting, but also a very humbling prospect, in that we have a passion to give this gift to the playa, but we need your help to give that gift. It is through this collective pursuit that we can embody the spirit of the festival and the project in a built architectural form.

REWARDS

To show our gratitude for any of your generous pledges, I have created some truly beautiful and unique rewards for all levels of contribution – Each inspired by the projects form and concept, that are all exclusive to this campaign. Please do go and have a look for yourself at them and support the campaign. If you can’t spare a donation at this time, then please share the campaign to as many people as you can – so that together, we can make the project a reality.

Thank you

Joshua

KICKSTARTER LINK: http://kck.st/1qGLHSw

Da Vinci Codex

‘Da Vinci Codex’ is a latticed sculptural piece which creates unique poetics of morphology that merge structure and movement. It transgresses the artificial boundary between art, science and technology, casting seemingly established analogies in a new light while inviting visitors to rethink the relationship between form, geometry and construction. Linear and curved scissor elements form a series of recursive cubes which speak of infinity and the complexity of our world. It denotes a recognizable metaphor of ‘object-within-similar-object’ that appears in the design of many other natural and crafted objects. The precision of the cubic form reflects the organised chaos of our universe. Poignant patterns inspired by a study into the scissor movement of the cube elements are perforated into the triangulated parts of the Codex.

As they expand and collapse, the triangles form unique and intricate shadows which highlight the transitional quality of human life and emotions, changing from a state of happiness to sadness, from calm to anger, from life to death. The structure provides shelter from the heat of the sun while entertaining its guests with opportunities to engage with the structure. A deployment mechanism inspired by study into Leonardo da Vinci’s machinery sketches found in his Codex Atlanticus is actuated by a series of gears situated at the base of the structure, which are set into motion by a pedal system powered by visitors. As burners interact with the piece, they contemplate a fascinating and spectacular change of light and decor. ‘Da Vinci Codex’ stands as a piece of event architecture, a spatial construct where movement is a transformational creative force.

The visitors interact with the piece by powering one of the four pedal systems connected to the deploying mechanism. As they pedal, the burners witness a captivating movement: the synchronised expanding and collapsing of the three cubes which cast intricate shadows and stimulate a sense of play. The visitors can also step inside the cubes and experience a series of ‘in-between’ spaces before reaching the central volume and enjoying a level of protection from the wind and sun. The highly abstract aesthetic of the ‘da Vinci Codex’ is meant to affect the community with a spirit of experimentation and encourage each and every burner to question preconceived ideas, beliefs or desires.

The size of each member has been carefully considered not only to allow structural integrity but also to respect the proportions of the human body. Each face of the cube moves in a synchronised manner. The relationship between the size of each face and proportions of the human body has been inspired by da Vinci’s Vitruvian man.

‘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.

Metamorphosis: Inception

-Tia

WeWantToLearn.net at Burning Man 2015

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I will learn.” Xun Kuang (312-230 BC)

WeWantToLearn.net at Burning Man 2015 – A video by Freddie Barrie

“We believe that Architecture should be fun and in giving our students the opportunity to build projects in the real world. We want them to dare to be naïve, curious, and enthusiastic,  to think like makers and to act like entrepreneurs, creating an architecture of joy. Burning Man is the playground for our dreams.” Toby Burgess and Arthur Mamou-Mani, DS10 Studio Leaders, University of Westminster

Team: Toby Burgess and Arthur Mamou-Mani (tutors), Tobias Power (Designer of The Infinity Tree), Jon Leung (Designer of Bismuth Bivouac), Lorna Jackson (Designer of reflection), Maialen Calleja, Andrei Jipa, Josh Potter, Aaron Porterfield, Aigli Tsirogianni, Alex Fotherby, Andrew K Green, Ben Brakspear, Ben lloyd Goldstein, Charlotte Chambers, Deepak Krasner, Eira Mooney, Eliana Stenning, Elizabeth Ripps, Felix Thiodet, Garis Iu, Jack Hardy, Jasmine Low, Jon Goodbun, Lianne Clark, Maria Sobrino, Martin Brien, Matthew Lee, Michelle Tanya Barratt, Neale Shutler, Phil Olivier, Ricky Chandi, Sarah Stell, Toby Plunkett, Tom Jelley, Elan laplain, Innes Shelley, Jake Spruyt, James Abbott, Jasper Sauve, Joe Leach, Julian Sauve, Klina Jordan, Joshua de Matteo, Maria Vergopoulou, Kris Leung, Ben Metcalfe-Penny, Willem Ossorio, Sebastian Sauve, Tim Hornsby, Tim Martin

Engineers: Format Engineering (The Infinity Tree and Bismuth Bivouac) Price & Myers (Reflection)

Special Thanks: BettieJune Scarborough, Ben Stoelting, Brody Scotland, DaveX, Harry Charrington, Thomas Ermacora, Betty Lam and to all our Kickstarter Backers.

Here are some stills extracted from the video:

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Candyfloss from Venus

Imagine the solar system as our universe’s gigantic candyfloss maker. Candyfloss from Venus is recreating a mystic phenomenon of the solar system in a human scale and in the most fun approach.

1:5 scale model of part of the timber structure (made by 3mm laser cut mdf)

The sacred geometry that exists between the cycles of the planets has been a source of fascination for humans for centuries. The Candyfloss from Venus is an art installation designed for the Burning Man Festival, inspired by the fivefold rosette pattern formed by the orbit of Venus around the Earth, when viewed from the geocentric position, also known as ‘the rose of Venus’. The translation of the dance of Venus around the Earth in more than one geometric plane creates a grid-shell rose pattern.

The fivefold rosette and the grid-shell rose pattern are informing the geometry of the Candyfloss from Venus. This pavilion is created as a result of digital and physical testings of the orbits of circles or spheres around a fixed centre, reminiscent of the function of a spirograph toy, which creates hypotrochoid and epitrochoid curves and by expanding the possibilities of the spirograph in three-dimentional space.

The main supporting structure of this pavilion is created by a wooden structure, of three concentric rose like, grid-shell frames. The laser cut plywood pieces of the frames are connected, interlocked and bolted together with metal brackets, forming a secure and climbable construction. The beautiful ‘rose of Venus’ is recreated within the grid-shell structure, by the weaving of white EL wire inside translucent, coloured and flexible PVC tubes, supported by the wooden skeleton. In the centre of this light hurricane, a candyfloss maker is continuing the orbital loops of matter, gifting to burners a galaxy to taste.

This art installation carefully considers the principles of Burning Man, by providing an interactive, playful, climbable pavilion that reveals the beauty of Venus’ orbit spiralling around the Earth, directed by the divine proportion of the golden ratio. The internal spaces created by the wooden framework and the loops of the ‘rose of Venus’ can be explored and utilised. The dense spiralling geometry of the coloured weaved PVC tubes generate beautiful shadows during the day. At night-time, the EL wires light up the rosettes, producing a visually mesmerizing effect, creating an illusion of depth and density. The whole structure is tactically tilted in order to permit burners to explore every dimension of these orbital flowers of light. Candyfloss from Venus is providing an interactive space for cherishing the beauty of the Playa’s starry night sky, while enjoying the colourful sweetness of some candy floss. The geometric secrets of the sky become a playground for every burner to discover. It is an art piece designed to reminisce everyone’s childhood and aspires to leave a sweet memory of the night sky to every burner.