Professors Antonio Furgiuele and Whitney Moon embraced the Wisconsin winter by conducting a workshop in sub-zero temperatures last month!
‘Frozen Form-Finding’ was a hands-on UW MIlwaukee SARUP workshop that allowed participants to advance the field of experimental structures, form-finding, material play, and space making—with necessary help provided by Milwaukee’s freezing temperatures.
‘Frozen Form-Finding’ explored ice shell structures, inspired by Swiss designer Heinz
Isler and his work from the early 1960s. Through the symmetric relationship of tension and compression, students designed a series of fabric structures.
These were hung ‘upside down’ in tension and water applied, allowing them to freeze.
Once rigid, the ice forms were positioned ‘right side up’, converting forces into compression.
Additional investigations in ice molding and formwork were encouraged. Structures were executed at full scale, inhabitable, beautifully experimental, and installed in the
SARUP courtyard.
This almost makes us want more snow....almost...
Each semester, SARUP turns into a beehive of creative activity, with the collective energy of students and faculty resulting in projects and presentations that excite and intrigue, as they generate enquiry into the disciplines of architecture and urban planning. This blog is an attempt to give a glimpse of our life.
3 Comments
Frei Otto and Gaudi would be proud!
These are cool! Some students from Cal Poly Pomona did a similar project, but due to the warm weather, they could not freeze the structures. Rather, they used plaster to harden sheets of whatever material they used.
The temporary and completely wasteless nature of this project is terrific.
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