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This vortex-shaped, temporary outdoor installation in the Los Angeles exhibition space of Materials
& Applications, warped the flow of space with
a featherweight rendition of a celestial black hole. Hovering
over M&A's courtyard, Maximilian's Schell was a spectacle
the size of an apartment building constructed in tinted Mylar
resembling stained glass. The piece functioned as a shade
structure, swirling overhead for the entire summer of 2005.
The interior of this immersive experimental installation created
a beckoning outdoor room for social interaction and contemplation
by changing the space, color, and sound of the M&A courtyard
gallery. During the day as the sun passed overhead, the canopy
cast colored fractal light patterns onto the ground while a tranquil subsonic drone from the integrated ambient sound installation by composer James Lumb entitled "Resonant Amplified Vortex Emitter" lightly rumbled below the feet of the viewer. When
standing in the center or "singularity" of the piece and gazing
upward, the visitor could see only infinite sky. In the evening
when viewed from the exterior, the vortex glowed warmly while
both obscuring and allowing glimpses of the building behind
it. The assembly paid homage to a character played by actor
Maximilian Schell in Disney Studio's forgotten sci-fi adventure
The Black Hole. Dr. Reinhardt is a visionary tyrant
on a monomaniacal quest to harness the "power of the vortex"
and possess "the great truth of the unknown."
Ball Nogues invested more than a year into a development process that involved
several prototypes, though actual fabrication took only two
weeks. The result was an installation that functioned as not
only architecture and sculpture but as a "made-to-order" product
through a unified manufacturing strategy. The designers achieved
their aesthetic effects by manipulating Mylar reinforced
with bundled Nylon and Kevlar Fibers on a computer-controlled
(CNC) cutting machine. Simultaneously reflective and transparent,
the amber-colored film offered UV-resistance through a laminated
golden metallic finish. The result was neither a tent-type
membrane nor a cable net structure in the manner of Frei Otto,
but a unique tensile matrix comprised of 504 different instances
of a parametric component or "petal," each cut and labeled
using the CNC system. Every petal connected to its neighbors
at three points using clear polycarbonate rivets to form the
overall shape of a vortex. As though warped by the gravitational
force of a black hole, the petals continually changed scale
and proportion as they approached the singularity of the piece.
An integration of structure and skin, the vortex behaved as
a "minimal surface": prestressed, always in tension, yet definable
mathematically. Its lineage is in the soap film surfaces modeled
by Otto in the 1950s and '60s; a process now typically accomplished
using software that performs "finite element" calculations.
After receiving hand sketches and computer models made by
the designers, membrane engineer Dieter Strobel digitally crafted and
refined the minimal surface model. He quickly and precisely
manipulated it during the "form-finding" process while accounting
for the distorting effects of gravity and enabling the finished
vortex-shaped canopy to be in tension everywhere across its
top surface. This gave it a pure and smooth appearance, especially
when viewed from the exterior. Seen from the interior, the
piece resembled an enormous transparent flower with its petals
lightly draping and curling downward with gravity.
Designers and Principals in Charge: Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues
Construction Coordination: Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues
Construction Team: the magnificent volunteers at Materials & Applications
Membrane Analysis: Dieter Strobel
Structural Engineering Consultants: David Bott, Hardy Wronske
Sound: James Lumb
Parametric Modeling: Benjamin Ball
Photography: Benny Chan, Oliver Hess, Scott Mayoral, Joshua White
Curator: Jenna Didier
Special Thanks: Dewey Ambrosio, Miranda Banks, Freya Bardell, David Bott, Siobhan Burke, Scott Carter (the prince of parametric modeling), Malachi Conolly, Ben Dean, Jenna Didier, Stephanie Elliot, Rachel Francisco, Rob Fitzgerald, Linda Graveline, Andrew Hardaway, Oliver Hess, Tony Hudgins, Leigh Jerard, Tim Levin, Jonny Lieberman, Brandie Lockett, Kellie Lumb, Alexandra Isaievych, Alex MikoLevine, Fred Moralis, Jim Miller, Phil Miller, Charon Nogues, pAdlAb: Dan Gottlieb & Penny Herscovitch, Harry Pattison, Joanne Pink-Tool, Jeremy Rothe-Kushel, Edward Shelton, Dieter Strolbel, Joe Sturges, Elizabeth Tremante, Hardy Wronskie, and Bryant Yeh. |
