Montopolis, Texas is home to The Circle Acres Nature
Preserve, a quiet suburban park that lies on the
outskirts of Austin’s urban fabric. The Preserve
boasts a variety of different topographical features
that highlight the uniqueness of Montopolis’ natural
landscape. Wetlands, prairie, forest, and landfill
can all be found throughout the site, but each blend
seamlessly into one another creating a forgotten
oasis in an area desperate for public sanctuary.
Our proposal intends to create interesting feats of
architecture and engineering that will not only serve
as an artistic installation for the community but also
act as usable space within the different designated
zones. Our intentions are to create three separate
installations that follow similar structure and
establish themselves as part of the natural landscape
in each of the preserve’s sections. The installations
will reflect Austin’s urban web, by taking the layout of
the downtown city streets and superimposing them into
the park’s makeup, shaping them as to the topography’s
contours. The design consists of three 20’x20’ rope
nets that are strategically hung, pinned and stretched
throughout the nature preserve, creating unique tensile
structures across the landscape. The structures will be
integrated into the natural vegetation on the specific
area of the site. Each web will be hand-knotted and
strung together on site, in order to get the correct
shapes to contort to the flow of the land the ergonomic
shapes of the human body. Our intent is to create a
design that blends into the surrounding environments
and establishes approachable forms that can be enjoyed
by all passing occupants.

The proposed design implements a zero impact solution
to the design problem at hand. The structures are
created for temporary use and can be taken down and
re-used at any time without harm to the land or the
structures themselves. Each web would be knotted from
reclaimed or repurposed ¾” thick rope that has been
laid out in 20’x20’ squares, with 1’ incremental
squares within the larger shape. Each rope net would
then be dyed a certain color in order for passerby’s to
identify their location within the nature preserve and
to signify the difficulty of scaling that particular web
structure. The webs will create a colorful contrast to
the natural scenery, drawing in visitors and allowing
them to engage and interact with the installations. In
order to generate the dynamic tensile web structures,
we are proposing a two part connection system that
will interlock the corners and tension points of the
rope net with the surrounding structural foliage.
The connecting corners will loop through soft rubber
tubing that has been locked to a sturdy tree with a
crank tether. That rope will then be secured using a
cinch lock, fortifying its position and strengthening
its hold with every pound of pressure that is acted
upon the connection. This system leads for easy
installation and removal when it is necessary. The
webs will become part of the environment, so users
will be occupying and interacting with the webs while
the webs are interacting and occupying the forest and
the landscapes they are set in.

The web installation process is a neat and simple
procedure, and can be replicated any number of times
without hesitation. The overall cost for the material
needed to weave the web is extremely minimal and once
one is constructed, the web is likely to whether the
harsh elements and repeated abuse of excited parkgoers
climbing and scaling the magnificent art pieces.
The process of weaving the rope net is easily learned
and we plan to use just two men to fabricate each of
the web constructs, and again use only two men to
hang and install them throughout the park. Having the
forms start as simple squares and morphing them on
site to conform to their surroundings will allow for
quick and adaptive design decisions that will form
unique shapes each time a web is constructed. The
square is an easily palatable shape that any person
can manipulate to their liking, making the creation of
further web installations easier, and even allowing
designs from the community to be integrated into
any round of tensile web installations. Overall the
simplicity of the proposal will aid in the successful
realization of the project. We are extremely excited to
further the designs of the webs and have the proposal
come to fruition with a beautiful and engaging art
installation.