For this project I teamed up with fellow TADS blogger Aaron. As jtravis explained in the previous blog this was done for the summer technology course that march II's take. The technology courses at UCLA are meant to expose students to many of the technological tools at the campus, this includes vaccum forming machine, the CNC mill, lazer cutter as well as 3D modeling programs (maya, rhino). It is the philosophy of UCLA that students learn the technology through their design projects as opposed to learning them through seperate more tutorial oriented classes.

The project started with choosing a minimal surface provided and altering it through manipulation and accumulation. By supplying the minimal surface as a starting point for the project more time is spent on the development of the project as opposed to students creating their own starting points. After going through acouple rounds of manipulating the minimal surfaces students are then required to add lighting (LED's) to the projects. Taking its inspiration from bioillumination, the goal of the studio is to create a glowing architectural skin that integrates plastics with lighting techniques so that they both inform and transform each other. Through this process the architecture is also the lighting as opposed to the lighting serving as an appendage to the architecture.

Opposed to jtavis' superficial superglow project shown below we used lazer-cut acrylic plastic that was then bent to form the three dimensional objects. After manipulating our minimal surfaces we accumulated them in chain configuration. After this we made two alterations to the chain configuration creating a torque that emphasizes every other link, forming a hierachy to the full assembly. This difference is then emphasized through formal manipulations and lighting techniques. The major links received more surface area in order to create more glow and housed the stip led's which produced two glowing ends and a darker middle. The minor links (stems) were perforated to create less surface area and contained led diodes which functioned as more of a point light. This created a legibility and hierarchy to the overall chain configuration. For added structural stability monofilament was used to reinforce the connections along the edges of the plastic, slightly capturing the light at certain angles. In the final show the piece was hung/pulled between the ceiling and wall emphasizing the torque of the assembly.

Jurors included David Erdman (instructor), Jason Payne and Hernan Diaz Alonzo.

TAD(S)
scott





stems

view inside stems