Minimal Matters: Burning Man Proposal

Inspired by the highly symmetrical and optimised physical properties of a triply periodic minimal surface, ‘Minimal Matters’ aims to create an explorative, meditative and interactive experience for visitors. It is a strained grid shell utilising the geometrical benefits of an asymptotic curve network; digitally designed via algorithmic rules to minimise material, cost, and construction time.

The proposal takes the form of a crystalline structure found in nature, interpreted through parametric design into a timber grid art piece. In the sense of repeating themselves in three dimensions, a gyroid is an infinitely connected triply periodic minimal surface. A minimal surface is a single surface articulation which minimises that amount of surface needed to occupy space. The proposal represents restoring a balance in energy, taking only that of the earth’s resources required to fulfil the form. Our inability to distinguish our needs from our greeds leads to excessive desires for life’s commodities. The efficiency of the design complements the beauty of rotational symmetry of a single node.

The lattice structure will create foot and hand holds to help climbers onto the series of sloping platforms; allowing users to survey the desert camp from different perspectives.

More than just a climbable structure, Minimal Matters is to be a resting place for festival-goers and a shelter from the strong sun of the site. The layers of grids cast shadows of varied patterns throughout the day. At night, LED lighting along the lamellas will celebrate it’s form and illuminate the playa.

1.5mm Plywood Prototype – 600x600x600mm

Inspired by nature, the proposal brings a parametrically designed structure into the realm of physical interaction. The piece is a culmination of thorough research and physical exploration of timber’s potential. The combination of conceptual bravery matched with architectural reality seeks an architecture of playfulness and beauty which will respond to the inclusive environment of Burning Man. It will celebrate a new design method for timber grid construction, and symbolise the harmony between nature and computational design.

Life’s First Flicker

Project Summary

Translucent fractal ball animated by dancing color changing lights symbolizing the very first spark at the beginning of the universe as well as the spark of life that our species is on both an eternal mission to keep alight and is in the final stages of creating anew with artificial intelligence.

Physical Description

A 20 foot diameter translucent form, made of twelve identical five petal polypropylene origami flowers arranged as a dodecahedron each with two smaller flower at their centers and intricately lazercut with a 2d filigree depicting the overall form. All the flowers are tied to each other and to a timber dodecahedral internal skeleton with concealed zip ties. The creased polypropylene held in tension by the origami folds themselves provide the rest of the stability. LED DMX lights sit in the five points which touch the ground, facing upwards, illuminating the entire form.

Philosophy

At the end of Isaac Asmiov’s book ‘The last question’ a disembodied AI is the last mark of the human race left in an empty entropic universe. It remains calculating the answer to the last question it was asked, and, unable to find a recipient for it’s solution it says ‘Let there be light’ and creation begins again.

This piece is shaped as a tangible interpretation of this spark. The spark at the first second of the universe and the spark of life which our civilization is racing to create in a sentient self learning AI. This moment, when our creations become self aware, is the theme of burning man 2018 and also likely to be the most important moment in our species’ history. Self teaching AI will rapidly become so powerful it will effectively be a deity. This pavilion’s purpose is to draw the visitors attention to this rapidly approaching moment and consider how we should design this mind before it is too late.

Burners can pass by or play with the spark and think it is just a cool shape, but those who climb up inside what is figuratively a snapshot right at the beginning of new life and the universe, can take a moment to pause and ponder from within, whether their life’s endeavor is relevant in the face of coming AI, what our species’ current knowledge may lack and how it could be codified and explained to a machine and how lucky we are as a generation to have both been born late enough to see AI’s birth, and early enough to have known life before it.

<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/244593633″>Life’s First Flicker: Burning Man 2018 Art proposal</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/user71835996″>Benjamin Street</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Fractalized Gates – A journey of Self Discovery

The project is inspired by the interaction between people. It celebrates the female and male union and brings together people that already know each other or are completely strangers. Its interactive, it challenges its visitors, its playful.

It invites people to take part and be interactive with each other. It is called like that as it challenges people to reach the final gate and come together. It acts indeed like a mistletoe. Mysterious and magical. The moment you stand beneath the final gate you stand where all the magic happens. You feel the power and need to kiss the other person. Its design celebrates this union and offers a magical mutation.

It offers a labyrinth of complex, intriguing that seek to nourish individual experiences.

Black rock city seems to be the promised land, the promise of freedom, of self-expression, of immediacy and creativity and community. In a community like Burning Man you can assume the right to approach any random person and have an interesting interaction. You can overly express interest and curiosity. The Desert Mistletoe aims to give people a chance to be more expressed, more playful. Its for those people who want deeper connections, more meaningful interactions, less seriousness and more play.

Hugs and affection are a particularly significant aspect in which to expect more from strangers. We all need love, hugs and kisses are one of the best ways to deliver it. Take the risk to go in for a kiss. Of course some people will be hesitant. The project challenges people to express affection and admiration and relax. Hugs and kisses bring us together. At Burning Man, the endless parade of people flaunting their unusualness brings joy and excitement.

The unusual is both delightful and challenging. People love the unusual, the extraordinary and anything out of our everyday lives and routines. At Burning Man you do not need to sacrifice your wonderful weirdness. On the contrary you are challenged to explore your playful impulses and discover or express your freaky freedom.

The project is inspired specifically by the people of Burning Man.

‘Burners respect the gift of being touched’

 

Inspiration – The Symbol of Sri Yantra

Symbolism

The Sri Yantra is conceived as a place of spiritual pilgrimage. It is a representation of the cosmos at the macrocosmic level and of the human body at the microcosmic level. It is a Journey. A spiritual journey from the stage of material existence to the union of the individual soul with the divine. The spiritual journey is taken as a pilgrimage in which every step is an ascent to the center. It represents a movement beyond one’s limited existence and every level is nearer to the goal. All the stages are within a gated frame, which is called the ‘earth citadel’ and forms an enclosed space.

The geometry

The symbol consists of nine interlocking triangles, centered around a bindu ( the central point). The five downward pointing triangles represent Shakti; the female principle. The four upright triangles represent Shiva; the male principle. The nine interlocking triangles form 43 small triangles each representing a particular aspect of existence.

 

The Concept – Fractals & Koch Snowflake

The proposed project is inspired by the concept of fractals – a never ending pattern, applied to a specific geometry. They are infinitely complex patterns created by repeating a simple process over and over, creating patterns that are self-similar across different scales. Fractals are images of dynamic systems that are driven by recursion.

The idea is based on the Koch Snowflake, a mathematical curve which has a finite area bounded by an infinitely long line.

For the project a script was created in Grasshopper and different patterns were created based on the triangles extracted from the Sri Yantra symbol.

Below: Acrylic model based on the fractal pattern that was created above

The model below is based on the fractal pattern created by

1. the triangles representing the Female principle
2. the triangles representing the Male principle

Together they represent, like the Sri Yantra symbol, the union of female and male. A celebration of our Creation.

Developing the design and the creation of a journey through a structure

The initial idea was to extract some patterns and create something that will look like gates. Gates that could provide a journey to their visitors.

Further development of the gates was undertaken. The final concept consists of 4 gates which intersect with each other in order to provide a journey. There are 4 different designs for each gate. Each gate has a dense pattern in order to create something elegant and ornamental. The pattern is based on the Koch snowflake concept and has been applied to multiple directions. The gates have different heights and dimensions with the last one reaching up to 10m height. This was designed in such a way to provide a climax of the visitor journey at the final gate/stage.

The design is all about a journey. A personal journey with different experiences. A welcoming structure, inviting the visitors to interact with each other. It says a story, it represents a story and it invites you to create one.

Experiment model in order to understand at what points the gates could intersect. At this point, the gates are connecting only on the top.

This has as a result to have an ’empty’ structure on the sides.

Final Design Concept

All the gates are connected with each other not only at the top but also on the sides. To achieve best results and better connections, the 3 gates are duplicated and connected with each other. The second gate will be connected with the third one only at the bottom. The 4rth gate has three sides creating a triangular central space. The gates have been rotated along the 2 other sides allowing for its visitors to enter from different directions. This also creates an enclosed space, like the Sri Yantra symbol.

The proposed installation aims to be part of this beautiful journey of self-discovery. It takes part of expecting more from strangers, while noticing the weirdness of others and encourages everybody to express themselves. With expecting more of strangers it increases the likelihood that the people you meet will become a part of that sometimes elusive network of connections we call community.

 

 

 

I N T I

Philosophical Statement:

Inti: The Incan Sun God, his face portrayed as a gold disk from which rays and flames extended. Inti is the Sun and controls all that implies: warmth, light and sunshine. During the festival of Inti Ramyi, held during the Summer Solstice, Inti is celebrated with much drinking, singing and dancing – special statues are made of wood are burned at the end of the festival. This sculpture is an extended physical manifestation of this; decadent ritualism and a spiritual experience.

Inti incorporates 288 petals are self-assembled into 12 concentric rings, with each petal representing the hours of the day and each ring every month of the year. These are held together using mirror polished circular brackets, designed to catch the light and reflect circles of sunlight around the structure interior. Inti’s focus is the sunrise; as the sun rises on the playa, Inti is designed to catch the light at this precise moment and funnel through the piece, enveloping and bathing the burners inside with it’s warmth and spirit.

Timber Wave by Henry Turner

Philosophical Statement:

‘Timber-Wave’; a plywood instillation emerging and crashing on to the desolate Black Rock Desert. This breaking wave a remnant of the retreating Quinn River, draws on imagery of both waves and dunes provoking thoughts of the original Burning Man Beach Parties and surfing counter culture. Simultaneously the design evokes concepts of the Silk Road as a mirage of a giant wave appearing from across the playa to be discover by wondering burners.

The design of the Timber Wave was driven by creating an interactive environment. In daytime, people are encourages to climb and search between the interwoven plywood structure. Open sun soaked communal areas create areas for group contemplation. Solitary areas for single travelers have also been designed as places of refuge from the intense sun, wind and dust storms hoping to encourage serendipity. At night the wave truly come alive as a monument to the sea. Bathed in varying blue tones of color the spectacular structure is a mysterious beacon within the dark playa.

Physical Statement:

‘Timber-Wave’  structure consists of 3 layers of 12 intersecting plywood ribbons.  Each ribbon consists of a varying number of water bent plywood components con-caving and con-vexing together forming a rigid series of tensioned and compressed sections.  The result is a homogeneous structure creating a beautiful ergonomically sized spaces. Each ribbon a series of circular penetrations in the form of an abstracted water pattern.  Creating foot and hand holes for climbing as well as allowing dramatic shadows to be cast throughout the structure and across the playa. At night the penetrations allow the lighting of the instillation to spill across the playa and between the layers of the structure.

1:20 Scale Model

Link: issuu.com/henryturner/docs/portfolio?e=0/6863548

Aetherius: the rhythm of wind

Aetherius: the rythm of wind

Aetherius: the rythm of wind

Aetherius: interaction with participants

Aetherius top view

Aetherius inside view

Aetherius prefabrication

Aetherius on site construction

Kite wings details

Air flow

Vibrations are the very basis of life. Wherever we look in Nature we see self organising and self regulating systems that are in a state of constant vibration, oscillation, undulation and pulsation. Inspiration and expiration of the lungs, systole and diastole of the heart are only two basic examples.

The concept of Aetherius is to translate vibrations into a self organised and self regulated structure. Aetherius makes the participants experience an ephemeral ultra-light architecture in constant movement.

The artwork moves to the rhythm of the wind and becomes a living structure.
It is a visual experience as well as being an interactive experience. As the artwork moves, the participants react to its unpredictable behaviour. Not only Aetheius moves with the windy climatic conditions, but it can also be animated by the particpants.
In summary it is a delicate ephemeral structure that reflects the subtle nature of a vibrating system.

PEE TEA