A giant mass rising up out of the burning sand, disguising its size with a cloak of mirrors and distorted forms. A thousand images of the sky, sand and everything in between, reflected a million times. Skewed views and unusual reflections make it seem as though it is warping its surroundings, creating confusion and affecting the ability to distinguish what is and isn’t there. Is it a mirage? An optical illusion, perhaps? Or a physical manifestation of something far greater in meaning? It could be, but actually it’s just a giant disco ball melting in the sun.

With its beginnings set in the humble meaning behind the infinity or ‘lemniscate’ (∞) symbol, Finding Infinity is as much about experiencing apparent physical endlessness as it is about looking inwards to our own possible limitless options for ourselves and our lives.

The Meaning of Infinity

Mathematical Infinity:

Introduced by 17th century english mathematician John Wallis, the symbol was originally referred to as the lemniscate (meaning ‘ribbon’) by ancient greek mathematicians and philosophers. Wallis reintroduced the symbol to represent the mathematical concept of infinity: a quantity bigger than any number. the word ‘infinity’ comes from the latin word ‘infinitas’, meaning boundlessness. [image src]

Infinity in Different Cultures:

Through the ages, different countries and cultures have used the infinity sign to represent many concepts and ideas. In ancient India and Tibet, the infinity symbol represented perfection, dualism, and equality between male and female while in the occult tarot the infinity symbol is found on the magician card and represents equilibrium or the balance of surrounding forces. [image src]

Popularity of Infinity:

The infinity sign represented in jewellery encompasses the idea of forever and although the concept of infinity or eternity  cannot truly be grasped, it represents the desire for something to be everlasting. For this reason the sign has come to represent everlasting love and friendship, particularly in the form of jewellery and tattoos. [image src]

The above manipulations were created using a combination of Grasshopper and Rhino, to experiment with the literal form of the infinity symbol in a 2D and 3D format. Manipulating the symbol in this way helped me to understand new design techniques and systems.

Why Mirrors?

Infinity Mirror Room by Yayoi Kusama

Rather than creating a proposal that took its physical inspiration from the Lemniscate itself, I decided to look instead into the concept of infinity and how to represent that in a tangible way. My first idea lead me to mirrors, and the possibilities they hold – especially when reflections reflect each other. One way I experimented with this was to create a mirrored cube, and test with objects, lights and angles to discover how the feelings of infinite space could be created.

I further developed this research by looking into existing installations (both at Burning Man and in the wider world) which used mirrors for different reasons, and analysed what the effect would be on the user/viewer.

Essentially, the key design consideration for a mirrored installation is the effect of the reflections, which are controlled by the angle of the mirrors to the users. I then looked into creating a design which could use the multiple angles of the reflections of multiple mirrors to create the best sense of infinity. These designs were in the form of geodesic solids as well as a type of Mirror Maze.

Ultimately, however, these basic forms were not creating the type of space or experience that I had envisioned, so I took my research into a more physical direction and focused on creating simpler versions of mirror infinity by simplifying its form crafting a small-scale model out of mosaic mirrors:

Rhino Model

Day Render

Test Model

On creating this model, it became clear that there could be a more abstract way of approaching creating infinity using mirrors, as the effect that the model had was not dissimilar to that of a Disco or Mirror Ball.

Form Development

My initial idea was for a smashed disco ball which I looked into by digitally smashing a disco ball in Rhino. This was done my manually exploding a mirror ball type form and pulling pieces away from the main mass, to mimic physical destruction.

Night and Day Renders

Fragmenting this tiled sphere inspired me to look into manipulating its form in different ways and I came across an art installation of ‘Melted’ Disco Balls. Given the hot temperatures of Burning Man Festival I thought this seemed an appropriate way to deform an otherwise standard object.

Installation by ROTGANZEN in collaboration with Zara

Sunset Render

An initial model designed to test a basic structural form and mirror tile arrangements/fixings onto it. At this point it was decided that acrylic mirrored tiles would be necessary due to the significant weight of glass mirrors and would also require a secondary structure to span the lengths between primary structural supports.

Night Render

My hope for Finding Infinity is that it will inspire people, to see so many reflections of themselves and their surroundings can help to rethink the things we consider to be certain and show new ways of looking at them. There are so many opportunities that can be taken, paths that can be followed and choices that can be made…it only makes sense to try to see things from every angle.

by Georgina Gilbert of Studio DS10, University of Westminster

The symbol of the spiral

Through the inviting but challenging spirals I want to bring you to the inside of the dust storms, to the dead zone where you don’t feel anything, not even a single hint of air or dust but you will still enjoy the beauty and the magic.

What is an spiral?

A curve on a plane that winds around a fixed center point at a continuously increasing or decreasing distance from the point.

A three-dimensional curve that turns around an axis at a constant or continuously varying distance while moving parallel to the axis; a helix. By definition describes a planar curve, that extends in both of the perpendicular directions within its plane; the groove on one side of a record closely approximates a plane spiral (and it is by the finite width and depth of the groove, but not by the wider spacing between than within tracks, that it falls short of being a perfect example); note that successive loops differ in diameter. In another example, the “center lines” of the arms of a spiral galaxy trace logarithmic spirals.

Analysis of the construction of the spiral

What does the spiral mean to us?

Spirals are some of the oldest geometric shapes in ancient artwork dating back at least to the Neolithic period, the product of people thousands of years away from having access to writing. As such, we know very little about their religious beliefs and can, at best, guess about general meanings of symbols based on context.

Spiral to me means CHANGE, means CYCLE OF LIFE, means EVOLUTION all these is what The eye of the Storm is to me. A structure that will symbolize change as the same way Burning Man changes people; the cycle of life, the merging of completely different kinds of lives into the same place or same art structure or same festival; and evolution because it will attract you to the inside and will make you push yourself and challenge you towards the center where you will feel the peace of the eye of a storm as the same way life does to us.

To me The eye of the Storm symbolizes THE LIFE CHANGING, every frame of each spiral is an action, a decision you make in life that leads you to the place you want to be or the person you want to become. Although like in a windy storm that pushes you around, these events are not necessary your choice, many factors in life can change your path like a new elect president in the country or falling in love with a person, but all these merged together will consolidate our lives.Hence that is our task, putting all these frames together and connect them to become whatever we want to be and finally find the peace inside of each one of us.

Daytime render of “The eye of the storm”

Breaking down a six sided box The eye of the storm has six spirals, each one of them in a different orientation, symbolizing different kinds of paths in life. But each one of these spirals merge in the center of the cube creating a space of peace. Like the feeling of going through the Burning Man festival until the day the Temple burns when everything goes silent and calm.

The spirals, made out of standard size timber, will attract you to the center but these will be challenging like going towards a storm.The shape of the structure could become an obstacle but if you success you will get your reward of peacefulness in the center, protected by all these wooden spirals and with the chance to share these moment with whoever makes it through the storm with you.

Nightime render

Making the storm real

Starting from a box and breaking its frame into spirals is the basic starting geometry of The eye of the Storm. Going through many different testings and alterations on the parameters and after an structural analysis leading to the final shape.

Design process through parametric modelling

Looking at the materializing of the structure and mimicking the aesthetics of a storm, the overlaying wood planks give the sense of it. Structured but at the same time crazy, just like Black Rock City.

Testing of different materials

Feeling the dust at Black Rock City

Sand storms that make you lose sense of time, space, people or anything else that happens around you create these magical moments in Playa when every burner feels alone in a place full of people.

With The Eye of the Storm I want to bring you to the inside of these dust storms, to the dead zone where you don’t feel anything not even a single hint of air or dust but you still enjoy the beautiful magic of the storm. Through the challenging spiral structure inviting burners to come in, I want them to come inside the eye to the safety of being inside the storm and at the same time experiencing all the dust storms happening in Playa which are a natural ritual that happens every year.

We can compare the plague from the Exodus with any of the dust storms that we go through at burning man, The eye of the storm is a structure calling at the sun on these occasions.

People experiencing the inside of the storm

The experience from the outside is compared with a tornado in a sand storm. Symbolizing a constant sand storm, kept in a broken box, which often happens in Playa. Within the overlaying of the wood frames experiencing the messiness of a storm but at the same time the spiral of the rotating structured nature force.While in the inner geometry you will sense none of this in the same way as in the dead zone or in the eye of the storm. All the layers of the structure will protect everyone inside from any sand storms in the outside. It wont be easy to reach that inner point as this all wooden layer will be complicated to cross like when you go through a storm and you are not able to find anyone around you and you feel in a place of nowhere.

Construction diagram

The reward to cross all these layers of wood through is to be in this protected space inside the Eye and experience the storm from the inside until you are ready to leave the peace and call Ra the god of the sun as in Egyptian rituals when the Pharaoh called the God to clear the skies from the storm and get back the sun to Black Rock City.

Abstract render of the structure

Once the ritual is finished the burners will enjoy a view of the dust storm in a protected space while they wait the answer of the call to Ra the god of sun, who will finish with the dust storm and bring the sun back again.

Entrance to the structure from the top spiral

By Maialen Calleja , Master of Architecture ( University of Westminster)

Definition of Subdivision is an act or instance of subdividing whole element into pieces. Equilateral describes as having all its sides of the same length.

Symbol of the Proposed Burning Man Temple is an Alchemical symbol of Fire. Symbol, which stands as Equilateral Triangle, triangle with upraised point associating to infinitive Flame.

Burning Man defines three different types or levels of open fire, each with different characteristics, and each requiring different approval processes and safety procedures.

• Direct contact with the playa
• Enclosed fire
• Relocation for burning

In any case, the structures are associated with Burning Man (burning in fire), which can be either burnt on site or be relocated for further demolition or be fired up on separate Burning Man platform.

17:00  TRIANGLE SHADOW                BURNING MAN SYMBOL                  7:00 HEART SHADOW

Whatever has a Beginning has an End.

Inspired by a continuous fractal curve, Snakes and ‘Ladders’ takes its form from the space filling Hilbert curve; an image that grows exponentially while at the same time being bound by a square with a finite area. The curve continues to grow until all that can be seen by the eye is a solid cube. From afar, the proposal will sit on the playa as a cube made up of horizontal and vertical wooden studs fixed together. As the burner approaches the structure, it can be seen that the internal space can be explored and allows the user to interact throughout the climbable structure as they make their way to the central and upper levels. As the person makes their way inside, each layer consists of a reinforced fractal curve that can be used as a ladder progress. When the sun sets, LEDS built into the wooden studs light up the various iterations of the Hilbert Curve giving off a colourful effect to each layer inside the structure. Each layer will be programmed to allow a brighter light sequence to follow the curves creating snake-like lights that envelop the laddered structure.

Symbols to Systems

“Then it seemed like falling into a labyrinth: we thought we were at the finish, but our way bent round and we found ourselves as it were back at the beginning, and just as far from that which we were seeking at first.”   Euthydemus, Plato.

My starting point began with the famous symbol from greek mythology, the labyrinth; an endlessly running meander. a structure designed and built by Daedalus for King Minos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur. It was said that Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it. However, despite this, a labyrinth will always consist of a start and an end point. The goal? Reach the centre.

Many labyrinths today are based on symmetrical patterns,  first seen from the Roman Labyrinth. These represent the first real attempts to create different forms of the genre.

The term labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze. However maze refers to a complex branching of multicursal puzzle choices in path and direction,  the original goal is not lost but rather relocated for creating games to challenge the user.

Looking at the work of M.C Escher I started looking at forms that could be intertwining together. As the number of staircases increase, the denser the stair maze becomes. However from this, each stair leads endlessly and no goal created.

Fractal Curve Analysis

Looking more into the Hilbert and  Moore Fractal Curves, I constructed both out of match sticks to look at how the pathing route for each curve differed. It was noticed that the Hilbert Curve looked to be more stable when finished as it’s upper level were more supported.

Structural Testing

As a fractal curve will always be developed from start to end using one line, additional support will be needed.Using Karamba, I was able to generate a script that will allow me to test the strength of both fractal curves until it fails. As the structure collapses I will be able to point out the weakest areas and provide additional support to prevent the proposal from failing.

Initial Proposals & Development.

Attempting to combine the stairs with the reinforced Hilbert Curve created some uninteresting results as an initial Proposal, from this point, it was decided that to create a more complex maze would be to increase the amount of iterations and strip out the staircases.

By removing the staircase, I instead increased the size of the structure to allow additional interations to be nested externally and internally. From this a 5m x 5m Cube was to be proposed, constructed entirely out of 2in. x 4in Dried Whitewood studs. This allowed the proposal to be built cheaply and quickly using Karamba to identify weak points in the structure and reinforce them.

Proposal: Snakes & Ladders.

Snakes and Ladders originated in Ancient India, popular by the name Moksha Patam; associated with Hindu Philosophy contrasting Karma and Kama.The game has also been interpreted and used as a tool for teaching the effects of good deeds versus bad.  The squares of Fulfillment, Grace and Success were accessible by the ladders, which represented virtues such as generosity, faith, and humility, while the snakes represented vices such as lust, anger, murder, and theft. The morality lesson of the game was that a person can attain salvation ‘Moksha’ through doing good and reaching the last square was attainment.

The number of ladders was less than the number of snakes as a reminder that a path of good is much more difficult to tread than a path of sins.

With Radical Ritualism being the Theme for Burning Man 2017, I believe my Proposal can itself be a cube of Fulfillment, allowing people to play the game of snakes and ladders to forget about their sins as they try to achieve ‘attainment’ by reaching the top.

The Snake.

Like the classical mobile game ‘Snake’ the lighting aims to wrap around the cube, illuminating the ‘N’ Iterations of the Hilbert Curve using LED Lighting.

The Ladder.

The structure is made up out of 2in. x 4in Dried Whitewood studs and reinforced to allow people to climb all the way to the top allowing either the external or the internal framework to be used as a ladder system to move throughout the proposal. Each iteration has start and end point which is travelled upon during the night which is reinforced by additional studs to allow no failure.

By Christopher Thornton

Ca’sah Nanah da gai [Feathers of Initiation]

The installation centers around the natural forms of feathers and pine cones, both being significant symbols in Native American culture, specifically relating to the Agai-Dicutta Numu.  Feathers were often used as an expression of a certain virtue or to reflect a certain individual or significant event. As such feathers were viewed in a similar manner to a gift from a high official, representing a link between the individual and divinity.

The sculpture starts in the form of a feather to reflect on the link between man and divine. The bright colours painted across the platforms represent those painted across the barbs of the modern feathers used in Native American ceremonial dress and ornamentation.

As burners ascend they will make their way up the vane of a feather they will complete their own initiation, drawing similarity between the great events that feathers were rewarded for in the past. As the platforms open they will begin to transform in shape to bear visual resemblance to pine cones.

The pine nuts are important in particular for the Northern Paiutes to survive the winter; and have their own festival in the third week of September. The change in form will reflect the process of change from receiving a symbol from the divine, to receiving bountiful harvest and personal fulfillment. The lighting will help to accentuate the fluctuations in shape throughout the day and night, representing the omnipresent divinity and how it can be seen in many different forms of nature.

  Form finding and colour explorationInteractivity

The piece will be both physically and visually interactive, with a changing form that will alter over the course of the festival. Burners can twist the colorful platforms around their central core allowing them to climb to the higher levels. As they do so they will be able to read messages of wisdom from other burners and leave their own along the way. The bridging links are fixed and thus can be used by the burners to sit and relax, observing the surrounding playa. The structure can also be used as a shelter, by rotating the platforms to create shade from the sun’s direct heat as well as forming a barrier from wind.

Special holes carved through some of the platforms will facilitate themselves as climbing holds to aid burners on their ascent. The bridging links are fixed and thus can be used by the burners to sit and relax, observing the surrounding playa. As the platforms are rotated, light will interact with the sculpture in different manners, pouring through the holes and creating intricate shadows. At night, the project will illuminate and create a light show, which will make the climbing possible even during night time.                         

Model – scale 1:1

Materials and components

The varying thickness platforms will be comprised of 12 and 25 mm layers of plywood, depending on it’s span and form. In each platform will be a ring of 10 mm acrylic between the top layers allows for LEDs to cast out a unique visual form at night. Metal ball bearings will separate each platform facilitating the change of form as it is used by burners.

All this will be held up by steel tubes measuring between 5 and 6 meters in height with a diameter of 160mm. The steel tubes will be welded to a metal plate buried in the sand and secured with ground anchors. The feathers are also structurally supporting each other, through the 4 bridge link, made from the same plywood.

Components- plywood parts

Plan view

Night time view

Elysian {DNA}

Elysian – [ Beautiful,  Creative; Divinely inspired; Peaceful and Perfect ]

My installation entitled, ‘Elysian’ is based on scientific principles of dna, wave forms, kinetic energy and how we perceive through our senses. Elysian invites people to visualise the form of dna in an infinite space as a fractal kinetic system. Its encourages a new relationship to experience between art and observer.

I believe dna to be much more than simply a chemical structure with coding instructions, and that the visual and physical depiction of the familiar double helix is only one aspect of a multi dimensional reality. I prefer to imagine dna as a pathway of energy and information connecting all levels of manifest reality, and that this unique pathway and the flowing currents of our souls along it are opitimised by love.

Elysian aims to capture the essence of ‘The Sacred’, providing a unique opportunity for people to connect directly and consciously with their dna, by experiencing mindful movement through the actual shape of dna as a fractal kinetic system. The infinite space of immateriality enable access to a world and dimension more profound
than our own. An escapism. A space in which emotions wander freely without constraint: Love, joy, wonder, dread, awe. Elysian ultimately intends to evoke ritual exploration. 

Elysian is not designed for rational thinking but rather for exploration and playful surrender. The spinning kinetics flashing lights and noise, coupled with the infinite void and physical pulling of rope, are all elements to induce honest and playful engagement and to banish all notion of reasoned and literal thought. Elysian seeks to capture the emotion of the festival and ultimately become a means of catharsis for the people of the Black Rock City. 

Proposal Elemental Analysis: 

Elysian: Parallel Space

Elysian amplifies our perceptions to play with our senses. Its design reacts to movement of people inside coupled with the physical interaction of people outside. It behaves differently depending on the time of day. In sunlight the walls reflect the festivals landscape, concealing itself in the desert, creating a period of discovery. At night the walls transform producing a beautiful interplay between inside and out. Standing inside the pavilion you cannot see out and so you are lost in an infinite space of mesmerizing kinetic wave forms. Participants adjusting the levers outside can see inside and begin altering the waveforms. These waves step from moments of harmony to deformed chaos. The role of the individual inside is to control the light. The more they move, the more the light changes. You interact with Elysium through your senses. The mirrors produce a stunning depth of field illusion, the lights flash at a rate faster than your eyes can see, called chromastrobic light and the rope rapidly spins to cause a whistling noise that together break the rules in your mind and induce the playful side as you work out the space around you that doesn’t exist in the physical world. I wanted Elysian to be a collaboration where people of the festival manipulate the effects to freely create there own sculptural dna forms.

Detail:

Inside are four spinning motors have rope attached which extends to the ceiling. At the base of each motor are four electronically controlled dmx led lights. As the motors spin, the rope transforms into a visual waveform. Small micro controllers pick up movement inside through small infrared sensors and vary the lighting output.

Earlier Concept System:

An earlier concept for the system enabled the viewer to pull the rope in order to disrupt the wave at the same time as viewing the outcome. This idea was later redesigned to enable a collaborative response in which one person alters the rope whilst another views the outcome in a different location.

[01]    DNA – Concept and Origin

Everyday I wear a gold necklace that has engraved upon it two serpent
s intertwined around a staff. It forms the symbol  commonly used for identifying an individual with medical conditions. I wear it for this reason, but in reality it has a far deeper meaning. I have always viewed the serpents as a symbol of dna and therefore a symbol of me as an individual. All living organisms acquire their uniqueness by there carefully defined strands of dna and yet by the very nature that we all possess dna we are in fact one and the same. Through this careful balance derives my intensive interest into the matter of dna and how we might perceive it in the real world.

DNA: 

‘There are as many atoms in a single molecule of your DNA as there are stars in the galaxy, We are, each of us, a little universe’ 

DNA stands are the genetic code that determines all the unique characteristics of every living thing.  Simply put your DNA is what makes you, you! You inherited your DNA from your parents, known as ‘hereditary material’ (information that is passed on to the next generation). Nobody else in the world will have DNA the same as you, unless you have an identical twin. Deoxyribonucleic acid is the large molecule shaped like a double helix and a ladder that’s been twisted many times.

 In the early 1950’s two scientists, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, carried out intensive studies into DNA using x-rays. Franklin produced an x-ray photograph that enabled two other researchers, James Watson and Francis Crick to determine the 3D structure of DNA. The structure was found to be a double helix. In 1962 Crick and Watson, along with Wilkins all received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery. Rosalind Franklin had died four years earlier and her pivotal contribution was not fully acknowledged until much later.

[02]    Parametric Understanding and Symbol Manipulation

Understanding the Basics:

In mathematics there is only one polygonal formation that would create a double helix. Ten regular pentagons orientated around a decagon.

Shape Deconstruction:

Starting with the end state of a number of packed circles I drew a polygon around them. I then trying to work backwards to find out how, given the polygon, I could have drawn the circles. By constructing a square one circle-radius in width on several of the key points it generated a larger pentagon. I had a pentagon packed with circles, so I could work backwards and attempt to find a construction which would give me the centres of the circles. Since a square helped me last time, I decided to go for the most obvious square (actually rectangle) – the one built on the pentagon’s baseline – and voila: A circle the width of one of the pentagon’s sides, centred on the pentagon’s centre, gives the centres of the circles which pack that pentagon. This is a general solution that seems to only work for pentagons.

Adopting Knowledge to Science:

The diameter of the helix (HD) and the height of the helix extension (HE) have a direct and constant proportional ratio to the pentagon length (PL) and pentagon diameter (PD). In order to establish the precise nature of this ratio we must devise some trigonometrical equations. The pairing of purines and pyrimidines in the Crick and Watson proposal locates the molecular pentagons that make up a part of the purines on the outside of the paired bases. However, it has been demonstrated that a more fluent and natural geometry would require adjacent pentagons at the heart of the base pairing. 

Adopting Knowledge to Science:

Below represents the development of the pattern. It was a case of understanding what could be found from my previous understanding. Constructed parametrically, it shows step by step the methodology behind the system. The final proposal form was a simplified expression. 

 *As I developed this pattern the American election had taken place. The pattern I had generated contained 50 stars,  the same number that are present on the US flag. I felt this highly significant and relevant to the projects location in  Nevada, USA. My symbol of DNA characterises each individual human but also represent a bond and connection  between all living this. A sense of unity and connection which defines Burning Man.

*It was this point that the ‘stars’ significance became more profound…

[03]    Wave and Light Analysis – Physical Experimentation

Chromastrobic Light and Waves:     [Artist Collaboration]

In order to fully understand the science and artistic quality of my project I met the discoverer of the phenomena ‘Cromastrobic Light’, Paul Friedlander. If we look at visual effects, we have to understand the limitations of our eyes. In much the same way that images which flash at rates higher than ten times per second will be perceived as a continuous sequence (like in a movie theater), if we surpass the total number of images per second that the eye can see, they will be seen as a continuous path.  It is this scientific understanding for the reason why we see a three dimensional form and not a rotating rope. The effect of Chromastrobic light adds another dimension that allows the eyes to perceive the rope as almost completely still for a millisecond before it changes. Chromastrobic light is only perceived when the lights flash at rate faster than our eyes can see. The video below represents this beautiful phenomena.

It was my intention to understand wave properties through a physical exploration. Below represents the standing wave experiment in which a spinning motor is fixed on one side with string attached. The opposite side is fixed. The experiment involved adjusting the tension of the string, the linear distance and the motor rpm.  With a greater understanding of wave simulation I began investigating their effects with LED DMX lights

[04]    A space of Immateriality

Infinity: Space of Immateriality

The most challenging aspect of the design to understand, though, is the optical Illusion. Optical Illusions are like candy for the mind. Like quenching the minds sweet tooth is the infinity mirror. The mirrors inside Elysian produce a stunning depth of field illusion that causes you to lose a sense of reality and appreciate what you are looking at more intensively. Viewing the spinning dna forms in this manor will break the rules in your mind and induce the creative playful side as you begin to work out the space around you that doesn’t exist in the physical world.

Infinity: Space of Immateriality

The infinity mirror effect is produced whenever there are two parallel reflective surfaces which can bounce a beam of light back and forth an indefinite (theoretically infinite) number of times. The reflections appear to recede into the distance because the light actually is traversing the distance it appears to be traveling.

Two-way Mirrors: Infinity with a twist

Using a one-way mirror allows light to pass through on one side but reflect the light backwards on the reverse side. Two-way mirrors allow some light to pass through and also reflect the light like a mirror on the same side. Rather than using glass, however, I will use one-way acrylic. The special property of the acrylic is it allows a small amount of additional light to pass through. A cheaper more accessible alternative. Placing two of these opposite to each other creates an infinite mirror system whilst being able to see it face on.

Two-way Mirrors: Architectural Device

I wanted to retain the effect of having lots of these spinning devices but without physically building them. Therefore, I am creating an infinite mirror effect to allude the viewer into a false sense of perception. The space will seem to be full entirely of spinning kinetic art forms when in fact there will actually only be four. By mirroring the floor and ceiling as well  they will spin in all directions. The star form of my pavilion should create a unique infinite mirror experience. Focused around the points of the star, the reflection should develop in a polar array. The kinetic forms will in principle reflect in a circle array around the end points of the star. The space will develop into an infinite array of DNA patterns and stars, coupled with the spinning string, lights and the individual viewers. Ultimately this produces a very close depiction of my earlier scheme with the benefit of being cheaper. It also uses sophisticated architectural devices to represent the same outcomes.

[03]    Scientific Investigations – Technical Project Understanding

Wave Analysis: Processing

I am currently developing the code and design to be used as an application on both android and apple devices. The application encourages the understanding of sin and cosine waves and how they respond to changing certain parameters. By using processing and open source material I have been able to start constructing an accurate wave understanding.

I also intend to be able to develop the code further to consolidate the link between the waves and dna, which is the essence of my Burning Man project.There could even be the possibility of using this at the burning man festival itself as a way in which people control parameters of the waves or lights via an interactive screen. The video below is a demonstration of the code working.

Wave analysis 2 looks at investigating different types of waves, adjusting sin and cosine functions in processing.

Wave Analysis 3 – Parametric Investigation [Grasshopper; Kangaroo]

I developed a computational parametric script using grasshopper and the Kangaroo component inside to produce waves. Kangaroos properties mean that I can alter parameters like tension to give more accurate results. The waves run of an initial rpm and distance. 

Elysian – Burning Man 2017

By Matthew Chamberlain,

Master of Architecture ( University of Westminster)

Thank you!

Project summary

Sound is a hidden code when it unlocks allows us to perceive it as a set of geometrical patterns. As Einstein’s belief ,the key to unlocking the universe is through the hidden geometry and mathematics. The mechanic of sound is translated visually through frequency and amplitude represents itself with beautiful geometries as code from the universe.

The installation is to recreate sound geometry into a symbolic structure like a sanctuary and resting place engaging users in the desert. It is a pitstop in the desert where one could retreat their senses. The sanctuary is made up of three mirroring layers, stacking vertically. The construction of the structure is to explore double curvature design with single curvature paneling and assembly. On the ground storey encourages private space for reflection; individual sitting and resting area are carved inwards towards the airwell but in contrast, the upper storey is the communal area within the enclosure where users can access from the ground by climbing up the ladder. Pocket of windows are carved out from the sound patterns, users enters into the enclosure and view the desert from within.

In the night, live feeding of sound is captured when in contact with the surfaces of the sanctuary. With a contact microphone attaches onto the surface, it captures the sound amplitude when a user touches or tap as sound travels through the surface as a medium. The device(computer coding with Arduino) then translates the amplitude variation (loudness) into changing colours of LED lights. The lights are attached on the rim of the panels.

Philosophy 

There are always representation of symbols. Symbol allows people to relate more easily. This installation is to explore geometrical meaning in symbols. Sound is a universal language, it is also a hidden code when it unlocks allow us to perceive it as a set of geometrical patterns. Hence, my design hopes to unravel and express the meaning behind the symbol of Sound to express the symbol of Sound by deconstructing it and dressing it with physical form , making Sound visually available to users.

Process

The studies of sound through a medium – water.

Harmonesthesia’s form embodies the serendipity of chancing upon a beautifully spiraled shell in the sand and realising that when placed next to the ear, that momentary experience can be conjured up in an instant, through the soft sound of waves, hundreds of miles away from its conception.

Harmonesthesia is a play on synesthesia, a crossing of the senses, that interchanges both visual and aural harmonies. The ritual production of art and music is defined by juxtaposition and harmony; Harmonesthesia will turn light into sound and sound into light.

A 5m shell will project from the ground with a low opening at its base, inviting participants to climb up into its interior. The internal structure will consist of tensioned plywood ribs that will also provide safe steps to climb up to the pinnacle, where interactions will be intimate. The exterior will be wrapped in 9mm plywood strips, curved around and nailed to the ribs. Their organic curvature will juxtapose the angular appearance of the ribs and steps partially concealed beneath. Wrapped between each strip of plywood will be LED strips. The interactive animation of these LEDs, along with loudspeakers placed inside the spine of the structure, will be controlled by a polar array of light sensors and microphones around the shell.

The spiral is a phenomena that occurs in much of the natural world from galaxy arms to snails, even the cochlea (from the Greek word for snail) or inner ear. It is a spiral-shaped cavity, in humans making 2.5 turns around its axis. Sound vibrations are converted into the sound we interpret by thousands of hairs within the cochlea; the spiral cavity allows each of these hairs to pick up slightly different frequencies which collectively can be interpreted as sound. Harmonesthesia’s form is inspired by this spiral, whose shape allows the conversion of sound into electrical impulse.

Once thought to be extremely rare, synaesthesia is now believed to affect between 1 and 4% of the population. The Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman reported seeing equations in colour. The artist Wassily Kandinsky tried to recreate the visual equivalent of a symphony in each of his paintings. And Vladimir Nabokov wrote;

“One hears a sound but recollects a hue, invisible the hands that touch your heartstrings.  / Not music the reverberations within; they are of light. / Sounds that are coloured, and enigmatic sonnet addressed to you.”

Human cultures around the world have all to some extent cultivated their own sense of music; processional movement and dance are closely associated with these musical vernaculars, their combination a sort of synesthesia whereby one evokes the other by association. In this way Harmonesthesia will become the focus of a ritual procession and generator of harmonious music.

Please participate by downloading and exploring Harmonesthesia in digital form via this link. Unzip the folder and open the file and you will be able to control an avatar in the virtual playa; ‘WASD’ keys to move; ‘C’ to crouch; ‘M’ to hear the music; and ‘L’ to turn on lights. Enjoy!

The Symbol

The Mandala – Sacred Geometry in Buddhist Art

“We can also discuss the mandala in terms of the soul. The soul is the totality of the mandala. Essence arises in the soul, but for a long time… the soul is not completely essentialized; only part of it is. The rest of the field of the mandala – the rest of the consciousness of the soul – is composed of all your mental, emotional and physical experiences. The thread is defined by the center of the soul, and we can know that center most specifically and in a delineated way by recognizing the essential presence and what quality is manifesting.”   – A.H.Almaas                                                                                                                                 

The word Mandala derives from:

manda =essence, la =container

Thus, the word Mandala translates as “the container of the essence”

However, as an image the mandala is a symbol representing both the mind and the body of the Buddha.

In esoteric Buddhism, the Mandala’s main principle is the presence of the Buddha in it. This can be represented either as a tree, a wheel or as a jewel, or in other symbolic manifestations.

The Centre

The Mandala is consecrated to a deity. In its creation, a line materializes out of the dot, while other lines are drawn up to the point where they intersect, creating in that way triangular geometrical patterns. The central area of the Mandala is the residence of the deity. Each Mandala has its own resident deity, with whom the mandala is identified. The circle drawn around the deity’s residence stands for the dynamic consciousness of the initiated. It is the gathering point, in which all the outside forces are drawn.

The centre is visualised as the essence and the circumference as grasping.

In its complete form Mandala means:

Grasping the essence.

The residence of the deity is located in the square structure concentrically within the surrounding circles. The outlying square symbolizes the physical world bound in four directions, which are represented by the four gates, which in turn symbolize the bringing together of the four boundless thoughts.

Loving Kindness

Compassion

Sympathy

Equanimity

The Square

The square structure is divided into four isosceles triangles by lines that run from the center of the Mandala to the four corners. Each detail in all four quadrants or triangles faces the center, where the deity of the mandala resides. The square form defines the architecture of the Mandala described as a four-sided palace or temple.

Palace – Residence of the presiding deity

Temple – Contains the essence of the Buddha

The Colours

The four quadrants of the Palace or Temple are divided into isosceles triangles of colour.

white, yellow, red, green, dark blue

 Each of the aforementioned colors is associated with one of the five transcendental Buddhas, further associated with the five delusions of human nature. These delusions obscure our true nature, however spiritual practice can transform them into the wisdom of these five respective Buddhas.

The Concentric Circles

The series of concentric circles surrounding the central palace or temple follow an intense symbolic structure.

Ring of Fire

Ring of Thunderbolt or Diamond Scepters (Vajra)

Eight Cremation Grounds or Graveyards

Ring of Lotus Leaves

The Complete Mandala

A person meditating on a mandala visualizes himself going into the mandala and making his way through the levels of images until he arrives at the center. Buddhists believe that the Mandala meditation helps concentrate spiritual power and bring freedom from suffering.

Drawing the Mandala

Component Diagram

After thorough research on the Indian Mandala, I started designing mine taking into consideration the various symbolizations and components that constitute the traditional Mandala.

Mandala Layers

Model Concept

Three Dimensional Mandala

The Final Proposal – The Cubic Mandala

Day Render

According to Buddhist religion, the mandala appears as a series of concentric circles that are a representation of the process of transformation that human beings are asked to undergo before entering the sacred area, located at the centre of the mandala. In other words, when meditating in front of a mandala, human beings move through the different layers, liberating themselves from the delusions that obscure our true nature, and consequently reach the centre of the mandala and attain enlightenment.

Based on that theory, the Cubic Mandala is a three dimensional, cubic representation of the traditional Indian Mandala and is designed in a way so that all the fundamental elements of the traditional mandala are being incorporated into the design. For instance, the central area, the palace or temple, the four quadrants along with the four gates, the ring of fire, the lotus and diamond ring, as well as the eight graveyards. The aforementioned are of great significance and vital to the process of transformation and the attainment of enlightenment and spiritualism.

This process is further emphasized by the introduction of 4 layers that form each side of the cubic mandala and represent the different stages that human beings have to overcome in order to reach the centre of the mandala. The cubic mandala is an actual representation of the difficulties one is asked to overcome in order to put an end to human suffering and acts as a means to discover divinity by the realization that it resides within one’s one self.

Night Render

The Cubic Mandala is a 4,5 m high timber and acrylic construction consisting of layers that form four concentric cubes, creating a journey to the centre of the mandala. The twenty layers that form the four concentric cubes are made out of timber. However, a 10mm acrylic sheet is attached to the five layers that form the first cube as well as the third concentric cube. LED strips will be attached at the edges of the acrylic sheets, lighting up the whole structure during night-time.

Exploded Axonometric Diagram

Exploded Diagram – Front View

Each cube consists of five sides, instead of six, as the bottom side has been removed and replaced by a base that holds the whole structure. The sixteen vertical layers of the structure are being inserted to the pockets that have been created at the base of the structure. The remaining four horizontal layers are attached to the horizontal elements.

The Base

The Experience

While observing a mandala, a kind of spiritual essence surrounds the one observing it, which as a result allows him a higher level of awareness and consciousness. Consequently, the creative mind of the individual is allowed to escape reality and run free. The mission of the “Cubic Mandala” is to encourage people to focus on it, absorb the beautiful designs and allow their minds to wander. People are tempted to let the “Cubic Mandala” absorb all their attention, by moving into the mandala and gazing into its patterns.

Section

A feeling of lightness is what people are going to experience, while falling into the mandala. Intuitive thoughts might arise. People are encouraged to relax, embrace one another and let the feelings come to them. According to the tradition, the making process of the mandalas involved four monks – one at each quadrant – working simultaneously until the mandala was complete. Having said that, the original process of making highly encouraged interactivity. Therefore, the purpose of the “Cubic Mandala” is to bring people together and, through the ritual of mandala meditation, to raise their spiritualism, to promote self-expression and finally, to liberate them from the everyday life.

Interior View

Interior View

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.

Dream Catchers by Nick Huard

Legend of the Dream Catcher

‘The legend of a dream catcher began long time ago, when the child of a Woodland chief fell ill. Unsettled by fever, the child was plagued with bad dreams and unable to sleep. In an attempt to heal him, the tribe’s Medicine Woman created a device that would ‘catch’ these bad dreams. Forming a circle with a slender willow branch, she filled the centre with sinew, using a pattern borrowed from our brother the Spider, who weaves a web. This dream catcher was then hung over the bed of the child. Soon the fever broke, and the child slept peacefully.

It is said that at night, when dreams visit, they are caught in the dream catcher’s web, and only the good dreams are able to find their way to the dreamer, filtering down through the feather. When the warmth of the morning sun arrives, it burns away the bad dreams that have been caught. The good dreams, now knowing the path,visit again on other nights.’ (Oberholtzer, 2012, p9).

Origins

Dreamcatchers originated with the Ojibwe, a tribe of Native Americans scattered throughout the areas of the lake country in northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and along the southern border of Canada, along the shores of Lakes Huron, Superior and Michigan, whose survival relied on fishing, hunting and trapping.  

Traditionally, the dream catchers were made by tying sinew strands onto a few inches in diameter round or tear-shaped frames of willow and were often wrapped in leather.

The spiritual life of the Ojibwa centred around the Midewiwin, the Grand Medicine Society and focused on the individual spiritual growth, gaining the insight through their dreams or visions.

Grey Owl repairing an Ojibwa-style shoe

Mystical Experience

My project is a re-interpretation of the beliefs that dreams have magical qualities with the ability to change or direct one’s path in life. The bawaajige nagwaagan intends to create a mystical experience, where people are caught inside, similar to the way that bad dreams are caught in the dreamcatcher’s web, and good dreams escape through the centre. The participants are encouraged to climb through the centre and escape their bad dreams and feelings, releasing their spirit through the enclosure. Now they can sleep in the peaceful environment, stimulated by the fantasy of glowing feathers and luminescent rope structures. The pavilion aims for people to sleep, relax and free themselves from stress while being protected by the magical webs of the dream catcher.

The Bawaajige Nagwaagan at night

Close-up render at night

Romantic essence of the Native American Culture

The proposal is a celebration of the romantic essence of the Native American Culture. The large scale, three dimensional net is inspired by the native methods and techniques of making dream catchers. It is a manifestation of the traditions and significance of the Native Americans, paying respect and pledging support to the indigenous people of America.

The structure situated in the Burning Man festival commemorates the ceremonies of Native Americans, dedicated to acquiring an insight through dreams and visions. Fasting, or giving up of certain necessities for a certain length of time was a common practice used to enhance one’s ability to access different dreams or visions. Another method was to pour water over hot rocks to produce steam, which enhanced the occurrence of dreams, used as source of introspection. These rituals relate to the festival’s assertion of disconnecting from the necessities of our contemporary world, supplemented by the extreme weather conditions, which are hoped to encourage reflection.

The pavilion responds and works together with the Black Rock desert’s environment, and adds to the wider cultural context of leaving behind the essentials and expectations of the contemporary world while creating a moment for contemplation and tranquility in the magical weaves of the dream catcher.

The Bawaajige Nagwaagan during the day

Proposal Development_System

Form Experimentation_Platonic Forms

Hexahedron

Development Model

Diagrams explaining model assembly

Tetrahedron

1:10 Model

Diagrams explaining model assembly

Physical Description

The structure will be composed out of three, seven meters in diameter, dream catchers, tilted to form a tetrahedron. Each dream catcher’s net will be made out of 275 meters, 18mm, synthetic hemp rope which will be entwined in 1320 meters of 3mm fluorescent cord. Attached to the frame uv lights will make the fluorescent rope glow at night. Three rings hold the net structure together, with the bottom ring anchored to the ground, made out of T-shape plywood frames. The web of the frame will be 4 layers of 15mm ‘banana’ shaped pieces which will create a circle, together with 4 layers of 230mm x 2400mm x 9mm flange pieces bent in shape of the banana edge. Smaller rings, supporting the centre of the dreamcatcher net will be of similar structure, with 2 layers of banana pieces and 2 layers of 150mm x 2400m x 9mm flange pieces, bent in shape. The frame will be wrapped in 13500 meters of 8mm synthetic hemp with attached fluorescent fabric feathers.

Frame’s web assembly

Frame’s flange assembly

Initial assembly diagrams

Testing Ideas in 1:1 Scale

1:1 Scale Test Model exploring the possibilities of glowing net structure and its connections.

Assembly of the net is inspired by a macrame knotting technique rather than weaving which means that the net could be made out of smaller 15 meters long pieces, rather than one 275 m coil of rope, making it easier to assemble and repair. Rope is anchored to the frame with thimbles and shackles, attached to the bolted staple on the plate. The rope is connected with simple S-shape stainless steel hooks. After testing the net I found that although these are easy to assemble, they can create some movement in a connection, therefore I am planning on exploring the idea of ferrules, which could be crimped in place.

Photographs of 1:1 Scale Model

Whatever your creed your reliance on the sun is unquestionable.

We have worshipped it as a God.

Spent lifetimes studying it through science.

Yet human hands will never touch its surface.

Celestial Field brings our sun to the Playa for us to dance in its glory.

Triggering our own solar flare.

Internal perspective of the Celestial Field Pavilion

From the dawn of time the sun has been a constant in human life. It has been central to the beliefs of nearly every civilisation throughout history. What was once an astrological wonder sustaining life; dictating when to plant and harvest our crops; evolved into a god and deity, woven into the stories and teachings of nearly every culture, from the Egyptians to the Ancient Greeks and even Christianity.

Sun symbolism from across the globe and through the ages

The oldest man-made structures in the world have resounding astrological connections to both the sun and constellations, covered in carvings they unquestionably align to major astrological events.

Newgrange in Boyne Valley, Ireland, thought to be built in 3500BC, has a tomb in which sits a stone basin lit by a single beam of light at sunrise on the winter solstice.

Newgrange Tomb- Borne Valley, Ireland; built around a single beam of light that exists only for a moment each year

The Egyptians, Greeks, and Christians have all referenced the sun within their religion and beliefs.

The Egyptians in 3000BC had Ra, the Greeks in 400BC believed Helios to be God of the sun, and Christians have often depicted Jesus in front of what is thought by many to be the solar cross.

Ra, Helios and Jesus all depicted with solar symbols

In the past the sun has been depicted as a 2Dimensional disk of light travelling across the sky before dying only to be reborn at sunrise.

The Ancient Greeks believed Helios to be the personification of the sun. A man with a many rayed crown of light, pulling the sun across the open sky with a horse drawn chariot. The Helios named after the Greek god has been used and adapted through the ages, with one of the most recognisable iterations being the logo of global corporation BP which symbolises “a number of things – not least the greatest source of energy … the sun itself..” – bp.com

Building the Helios

This once celestial being has now become a tangible thing. Through advances in our technological and scientific capability we have gained an understanding of the suns chemical make-up, uncovering many of its secrets from sun spots to solar flares. Although we have developed an increased understanding of the forces driving the sun, it is still no more accessible to us mere humans than on the first day on earth remaining an impenetrable sphere in the sky only to viewed from a far.

Physical model light testing

The suns surface has taught us much. Galileo’s sun spot diagrams unknowingly demonstrated the unique fluidity of the suns chromosphere. Further study of these sun spots and magnificent solar flares proved that the surface of the sun is covered in billions of interlaced magnetic fields all interacting together to form the whole. When these fields cross swirling plasma burst in an instance out into the corona bringing with it immense light displays that can be seen on earth as the aurora.

Recording magnetic fields with computer models and physical experiments

In an age where endless streams of newfound knowledge are accessible with the touch of a finger – it is easy to lose our sense of innocent amazement and unquestioning awe. We have a constant need for explanation of why and how phenomena exist, no longer blindly excepting their beauty and revelling in it.

The indescribable beauty of these gigantic magnetic fields can often be lost and forgotten in the mundane when scaled down to earthly objects. Viewing them at a micro scale allows us to connect with their other-worldly nature.

Macro photographs of physical tests of magnetic structure using iron filings

Science has taught us how a magnet attracts and repels enabling use in industry, medicine and everyday life. And as our knowledge expands, we move from child to adulthood and our desire to play diminishes – burdened by explanations and reasoning; we are no longer in awe of our ability to make metal move without laying hands on it. It has become the norm and the expected, it is no longer ‘magic’.

Life should be fun and full of mesmerising moments. Our increased knowledge should enable and enhance our experience of ‘magic’ not hinder it.

Experimenting with magnetism to define levels of sensitivity for large scale interaction

Celestial Fields captures the unexplainable wonderment the sun once held and makes it accessible through modern mediums, combining two worlds; science and enchantment, imbedding them on the Playa at Black Rock City, Nevada, for people to explore and lose themselves in.

Thousands of swaying rods made of tubes of one-way mirror form an undulating field, rising high above your head, and falling like the plasma pulled in all directions by the phenomenal magnetic forces found on our sun.

By day a field of mirrors reflect and intensify the suns natural beauty and power. Creating a maze of ever changing light to explore, push through and play within. At sunset everything transforms. The field morphs, bursting into a sea of glowing beams reacting to movement and mimicking the fluid, almost pulsing nature of the suns corona.

Like the chromosphere, magnetic fields have informed density and pattern, creating patches of pure brightness and areas as dark as sunspots. With each rod built on a spring loaded base it can be pushed a manipulated, enabling you to forge your own path through the densest areas of Celestial Field, parting rods like magnets repelling polarised iron.

Individual rods are clad in a one-way mirror film – creating a reflection of the desert in the day and an illuminated environment at night

Movement through the sprung rods creates interest not only for the participants but also onlookers. During daylight hours people weaving in and out can be seen across the playa through the constant glinting of the sun on the reflective rods. An ever changing shimmer, like sunlight dancing across water in the distance, drawing people in from all directions out of wonder and intrigue.

Once the sun has set the lights come on, and the show only gets better. The rods now glow and pulse, changing colour, transforming the world around them – each equipped with a sensor so as to react to movement as people push past; creating tracks of swirling light shifting like the turbulent surface of the sun. Areas of intense and overwhelming light can occur when people team together to trigger a cluster of rods forming a concentration of light evocative of a solar flare.

The sun is not solely about light, with it comes inevitable darkness. Shadows too have been used throughout time as a symbol in opposition to that of the sun; and in this instance the areas of shadow formed in the magnetic layout create areas of calm within the thrill of the lights where one can sit and ponder everything from the dessert to the sky and the sun that brings life to earth.

The pavilion layout is informed by the patterns of sunspots and flares forming on the suns surface

What was once worshipped as a distant god and celestial being can now exist on the surface of the earth as a Celestial Field in Nevada. The sun has risen and set, bringing with it heat and light; powering life on earth since the dawn of time, a focus of incomprehensible wonder and fascination for each and every culture across the globe.

Celestial Field intends to reignite our faith in the intangible, while showing us there are powers and beauty still to be found in the modern world.

• SOL •

The Ritual of Light

SOL is an architecture designed by Burning Man for Burning Man as a celebration of its surrounding landscape.The design creates an enclosed space, which is flooded with light daily at 12pm for a limited time. This ritual occurs only when both sun and architecture line up, becoming one entity.

SOL is 9m long, 3m wide and 5m tall. The entire structure is made out of 18mm birch plywood, cut with CNC and assembled on the Playa.

SOL is directly connected with its surrounding landscape, mimicking the silhouette of the harsh mountains. A series of 9 chimneys, which rise from the ground create several sloped surfaces where users can lay down to relax and embrace the natural surrounding. During daytime SOL will be a climbable structure, which can also provide shelter from the challenging conditions of the desert.

SOL was designed to act, appear and generate different experiences based on the user’s position. Frontally viewed it acts as a sun clock aligning with the sun at 12pm.

The overall shape resembles a series of monolithic rocks emerging from the playa, which are inspired by the landscape. During night time, SOL is dynamically lit by LED strips both internally and externally, producing a colorful light show, which celebrates the darkness of the night through artificial light.

Over the years, Black Rock City has seen a multitude of projects which have been created to animate the Playa.

SOL aims to be a playful, interactive and informative design, which enhances the relationship between humans and celestial bodies, in particular with the sun. Human history has been driven by the cult of the sun, and divinities and architecture have been dedicated to it. With the help of parametric design and environmental analysis, SOL is a direct representation of a particular moment on the playa: 12pm of everyday.

Internally, the light that penetrates and cast itself on the floor for only 30 minutes, wants to make the user aware of the sun’s movement in a more evident way. This phenomenon is a daily ritual, which brings people together in order to experience a connection with our universe that we sometimes take for granted since we cannot directly perceive it.

The wooden structure will be lit on fire on the last day of the festival since it was designed to exist only at Burning Man for the length of the festival.

My inspirations has a direct link to archeoastrology, a science that looks at the relationship between celestial bodies and architecture, i.e. Stonehenge, Chiceniza and the Parthenon in Rome. The common element between these projects is the attention, precision and relation with the sky and the movement of the sun. All of these projects and many more, create a different dimension where the architecture only becomes a tool to admire and contemplate what surrounds us.  

In conclusion, SOL aims to be an example of how architecture can be shaped by the use of datas and parametric design, in order to deliver a project which is directly derived from its surrounding environment.

Symbol- Language and Sound into System

Language has a strong symbolic meaning to the mankind. It is not just a sound but with meanings which then allows to self-express, communicate and inspire. The mechanism of the sound system of languages is translated into visually represented geometries using Chladni’s Law.

3-Dimensional computer generated Chladni Patterns 

When the frequencies increase, the pattern gets more complicated.

Tower of Babel – The origin of different languages

“Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly. […] Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:3~4)

(The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel)

It is the story from the Bible but also architectural structure found in Mesopotamia Civilisation – called Ziggurat. It was made of asphalt and baked bricks with total dimensions of 90m x 90m, 90m high. This is equivalent 30th floor building.

The united humanity spoke a single language and agreed to build a city and a tower that is ‘tall enough to reach heaven’. God found such behaviour as rude and disrespectful. He confounded man’s speech so that they could no longer understand each other. 

Concept Development through systematic studies of Ziggurat

The frequency and nodes of the word is analysed and recreated as two geometrical forms. They are proportioned according to the Ziggurat Algorithm ratio and timber pieces are stacked up vertically reaching the highest deck at 8m above. The structure encourages to climb complex geometry.

While reaching the top, less intense the space becomes. The LEDs are placed underneath the timber pieces which are concentrated on the top of the tower and distributed evenly at the centre the structure. Lights illuminates with the voice reactive sensor placed at the top of the tower.

Human always wanted to reach higher points either physical or spiritual. The height of architecture symbolised one’s power and control. This can be observed from the tower of Babel and continues in architectural history. Such expression of the desire of heights lead to competition of building higher structure.

High rise buildings were often found in religious architecture where they had few typical characteristics. First, it was the only tower to observe your land and the only tower which can be seen from everywhere in town. It has a visual meaning that the land within the perspective is the land within control. Second, religious architecture often had music instruments embedded within. This represented the control of the land where music reaches. And finally, high-rise tower was a representation of the centre of universe and sacred space in religious term. The tower, architecture of height is a spatial symbol of man’s deep desires.

The ritual is all about finding the true desire of your own. This begins with constructing the tower where the ritual follows the biblical story of Babel. Climbing up 8m high construct is a challenge then the climbers are rewarded with the beautiful panoramic view of Black Rock city. The climbers will also interact with the installation by continuously stacking up the Babels on top of the tower with scattered timber blocks, rocks, anything you bring. Eventually it will deform the original shape. Then the Babels will be the collective symbol of the Burners’ pure desire.

DS10 Trip to India

28th January – 6th February 2017

Our Journey through India

DS10

28th January

13:40

We set of on our Journey, boarding the plane at Heathrow with a brief stop over in Dubai and then eventually land in Chennai

29th January – Day 01

08:15

We have arrived!!!!

2 Hour coach journey to our first location

Mahabalipuram

Our Guide Esther

End of Day 01 in India

30th January – Day 02

Auroville

1. International Zone
2. Residential Zone
3. Peace Area
4. Cultural Zone
5. Matrimandir
6. Industrial Zone
7. Green Belt

31st January – Day 03

Puducherry

Puducherry French Quatre

1st February – Day 04

Architecture talk and Site visit

Auroville Town Hall

Afternoon at the Beautiful Beach

Sound Healing Workshop

2nd February – Day 05

Early Morning Wake Up

Matramadir Visit – No Photography Allowed

We travel back to Chennai to catch our overnight Train

Overnight Train

3rd February – Day 06

Hampi

Enjoying our first day in Hampi

Nearing the end of the First day in Hampi

Sunset on Kemkuta Hill

4th February – Day 07

Sunrise at the top of Matanga Hill

Lotus Temple

5th February – Day 08

Chennai for our Last day in India

6th February – Day 09

Flight Home

His life and work  (1919 – 2013)

Born in Turin, Soleri studied architecture at the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1946 where he received a doctorate with highest honors. After, he moved to the United States, he was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright for a year and a half in Arizona.

In 1950 Soleri returned to Italy with his wife where he was commissioned to build Ceramica Artistica Solimene; a ceramics factory in Vietri. He adapted the ceramic industry processes learned to use in his designs and production of windbells and siltcast architectural structures.

Although Soleri designed and built homes and bridges, as time went on he turned his attention increasingly to his “arcologies”, which conceptually addresses the interrelationship between architecture and ecology. Soleri complied 30 arcologies in his book, Arcology: The City in the Image of the Man (1969). This featured intricately-rendered cities of the future where people would live, work and play in harmonious self-sufficiency. Arcologies are self-contained, vertically layered megabuildings that combined living, working and natural environments into condensed superorganisms.

Arcology (The City in the Image of Man)

Soleri called for a “highly integrated and compact three-dimensional urban form that is the opposite of urban sprawl with its inherently wasteful consumption of land, energy and time tending to isolate people from each other and the community”.

Hexahedron Arcology (The City in the Image of Man)

Babelnoah (The City in the Image of Man)

Putting his ideas into motion, Soleri bought land overlooking the Agua Fria River, 70 miles north of Phoenix. This was the start of Arcosanti. Soleri spent most of his career trying to build an eco-Utopia in the desert planned for 5,000 people in 1970. His vision was originally designed to be 20 stories high which supported a study center for experimental workshops and performing arts. The construction was assisted by student volunteers from all over the world to help provide a model demonstrating Soleri’s concept of Arcology.

Arcosanti Apse, 2006 (Provided by Wikipedia)

Arcosanti struggled to attract residents, reaching a peak population of about 200 in the mid-1970s. There are fewer than 60 permanent residents of the town, but thousands of students and tourists still arrive at Soleri’s “urban laboratory” each year to learn more about the architect’s ideas and methods.

Arcosanti, 2005 (Provided by Wikipedia)

He retired from the project in 2011, leaving the continuation of Arcosanti to Jeff Stein, an architect from Boston. Soleri then passed away two years later. As an architect, urban designer, artist, craftsman, and philosopher, Soleri has influenced many in search of a new paradigm for our built environment.

Ant City investigation – [AGENTS]

Ants live in colonies consisting of millions of individuals. They don’t have leaders. Although there is the queen ant, she doesn’t tell the other ants what to do. Every ant knows their own roles and carries out their tasks faithfully. They are able to work together effectively because they all have the same goal for the good and unity of the colony.

In an ant colony, different ants have different team roles. There are the worker ants, drones and queen ants. Amongst the worker ants, there are workers of different sizes. The larger ants have stronger mandibles which are more effective for fighting. These are also known as soldier ants, although most of the time they will do the work of a worker ant. Meanwhile, the smaller ants are in charge of taking care of the young.

Below is an example of the ant algorithm in which they adopt a strategy for applying the shortest path technique. As a result, ants act as agents, developing an extremely intelligent network for collecting food and resources. They apply this same knowledge and behavior towards their colonies which creates an extremely efficient and adaptable city.

ACA – Ant Colony Algorythm

Dry Ice to Power human colonies on Mars

Martian dry ice already exists close to its “sublimation point” – the temperature at which it turns directly from solid to gas. It therefore only takes a relatively small nudge for dry ice to change states. One of my aims is to propose harnessing the energy released by this change to power a heat engine – or even a whole colony.

Carbon dioxide plays a similar role on Mars to water on Earth. It is a widely available resource which undergoes cyclic phase changes under the natural Martian temperature variations.

Power stations on Mars will exploit all this frozen CO2 to harvest the energy from the sublimation phase change as dry-ice blocks evaporate, or to channel the chemical energy extracted from other carbon-based sources, such as methane gas.

Solar Panels or Solar Concentrator Parabolic dish would be used to harness this heat and direct towards the metal plates

The experiment I conducted below represents the Leidenfrost Phenomena with water.

“This is the classic reference on how the golden ratio applies to spirals and helices in nature.” – Martin Gardner

What makes this book particularly enjoyable to flip through is an abundance of beautiful hand drawings and diagrams. Sir Theodore Andrea Cook explores, in great detail, the nature of spirals in the structure of plants, animals, physiology, the periodic table, galaxies etc. – from tusks, to rare seashells, to exquisite architecture.

He writes, “a staircase whose form and construction so vividly recalled a natural growth would, it appeared to me, be more probably the work of a man to whom biology and architecture were equally familiar than that of a builder of less wide attainments. It would, in fact, be likely that the design had come from some great artist and architect who had studied Nature for the sake of his art, and had deeply investigated the secrets of the one in order to employ them as the principles of the other.”

Cook especially believes in a hands-on approach, as oppose to mathematic nation or scientific nomenclature – seeing and drawing curves is far more revealing than formulas.

“because I believe very strongly that if a man can make a thing and see what he has made, he will understand it much better than if he read a score of books about it or studied a hundred diagrams and formulae. And I have pursued this method here, in defiance of all modern mathematical technicalities, because my main object is not mathematics, but the growth of natural objects and the beauty (either in Nature or in art) which is inherent in vitality.”

Despite this, it is clear that Theodore Cook has a deep love of mathematics. He describes it at the beautifully precise instrument that allows humans to satisfy their need to catalog, label and define the innumerable facts of life. This ultimately leads him into profoundly fascinating investigations into the geometry of the natural world.

Relevant Material

“An organism is so complex a thing, and growth so complex a phenomenon, that for growth to be so uniform and constant in all the parts as to keep the whole shape unchanged would indeed be an unlikely and an unusual circumstance. Rates vary, proportions change, and the whole configuration alters accordingly.” – D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson

D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson wrote, on an extensive level, why living things and physical phenomena take the form that they do. By analysing mathematical and physical aspects of biological processes, he expresses correlations between biological forms and mechanical phenomena.

He puts emphasis on the roles of physical laws and mechanics as the fundamental determinants of form and structure of living organisms. D’Arcy describes how certain patterns of growth conform to the golden ratio, the Fibonacci sequence, as well as mathematics principles described by Vitruvius, Da Vinci, Dürer, Plato, Pythagoras, Archimedes, and more.

While his work does not reject natural selection, it holds ‘survival of the fittest’ as secondary to the origin of biological form. The shape of any structure is, to a large degree, imposed by what materials are used, and how. A simple analogy would be looking at it in terms of architects and engineers. They cannot create any shape building they want, they are confined by physical limits of the properties of the materials they use. The same is true to any living organism; the limits of what is possible are set by the laws of physics, and there can be no exception.

Further Reading:

Biomimicry in Architecture by Michael Pawlyn

“You could look at nature as being like a catalogue of products, and all of those have benefited from a 3.8 billion year research and development period. And given that level of investment, it makes sense to use it.” – Michael Pawlyn

Michael Pawlyn, one of the leading advocates of biomimicry, describes nature as being a kind of source-book that will help facilitate our transition from the industrial age to the ecological age of mankind. He distinguishes three major aspects of the built environment that benefit from studying biological organisms:

The first being the quantity on resources that use, the second being the type of energy we consume and the third being how effectively we are using the energy that we are consuming.

Exemplary use of materials could often be seen in plants, as they use a minimal amount of material to create relatively large structures with high surface to material ratios. As observed by Julian Vincent, a professor in Biomimetics, “materials are expensive and shape is cheap” as opposed to technology where the inverse is often true.

Plants, and other organisms, are well know to use double curves, ribs, folding, vaulting, inflation, as well as a plethora of other techniques to create forms that demonstrate incredible efficiency.