Photo by Nathaniel McMahon

String Theory Redux

Chongqing

The installation is constructed using one chain that connects to three points in an L-shaped courtyard space. Two strings, one orange and one blue, thread through the chain to beams located on selected edges of the courtyard. The threading of the string evenly distributes force through the length of the chain, bending it into arcs that reveal the distributed tension.

The lines of the string are spaced at 150mm and create a strong vertical rhythm. The transformation of the lines of the string against the arc of the chain suggests twisting planes, orange and blue surfaces within the space. The lines of the string in combination suggest hyperbolic planar transformations similar to the form-finding experiments of Candela and early modern structural designers.

BAM studied the installation in a series of models from 1:50 to 1:10 and finally a 1:1 mockup. The initial concept is linked to String Theory v1, a project Jake Walker undertook in the entrance of Cornell University’s Tjaden Hall and which shut down the school for a day due to a violation of fire code.

弦理论回归

重庆

BAM为重庆博建设计中心中庭所设计的装置。我们分析了基地的建筑体量,开始从植物的概念出发进行设计,旨在建造一个绿色的装置。 设计以自然中生长变化的植物做为灵感,进而对空间里的曲线进行研究,产生了攀爬花园&绳索的方案,就是在多维空间里绳子的交织。我们制作电子模型尝试不同的交织结构和编织方式,并用做手工模型的方式去试验,从连接概念到材料到工作原理,通过实体模型的方式制作出来。 最后试着在中庭里嵌上连续延展的绳面,装置形态为呈镜面对称的两条竖向弧线及多条连接线,其多变的造型营造一种简洁、活泼、有序的气氛,消解了狭窄建筑空间本身带来的压抑感。而从结构上来说,装置与西南侧建筑墙面间的连接仅为三个点,与东侧及北侧的种植池通过多点连接。