Stephen Parey Student No: 590337 Semester 1/ 2012 Group 16

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Concepts

When I had heard the term natural process I immediately thought of processes that occurred over time. The concept of erosion in forms such as canyons and streams appealed to me because of the constant wearing away of a surface and sediment to form a complex shapes.

In the case of canyons, water fills into a deep ravines and starts to seep into cracks in the rock where it cuts less dense materials, leaving behind the hard sandstone and granite exteriors. In the reading on “The Man who Loved Fluids”, Leonardo da Vinci states how without water nothing retains a form. In the case of erosion is true. The negative space left by the water gives new life to the previous form of the rock.

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Constant progress over time is a fundamental component in natural processes, and I wanted to capture that element in shape.

Looking at images of canyons and waterways I was intrigued about making a model that felt heavy like rock but at the same time had the fluidity and motion of water in the design.

In addition, as I started to look at rock formations I noticed that the negative space left by the water had a distinct visual appeal. Also it seemed to work very well with the contrast between light and dark which would be great for the design of the lantern.

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Another concept centered around the idea of time was the natural process of stalactite and stalagmite formation in columns. A stalactite is formed from the decomposition of calcium carbonate which is limestone. The water dissolves the carbonate adding more layers at the bottom of the stalactite. The stalagmite goes through the same process, however it builds from the bottom up.

The “Shapes of Things” article talks a lot about evolution and how materials and living things form out of their environment. The stalactites and stalagmites in the same way form into a column in order to become more stable as a structure making for an interesting natural process.

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Glaciers were another possibility to pursue because of gradual and long term addition of snow over a period of many years or even centuries. An interesting characteristic of glaciers is that the weight of snow deforms and flows the shape. In this situation water is in a frozen form and is constantly changing due to wind and stress.

The curves and crevices made by this slow process could be abstracted to form an interesting lantern.

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Ideas

I initially started sketching out some ideas for the design, but most of my ideas seemed to be too representative and needed to be more abstract.

Evaluating all my concepts, I decided to use erosion as my natural process due to the negative spaces created by the water and the layers created by the constant removal of sediment.

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After researching more about erosion, I discovered that water erodes rock and forms streams in either a dendrite or tendril formation where the harder rock is exposed. In my model I would like to incorporate a branch like component into the shape maybe through depth.

Design Development

In order to abstract the formation of the lantern I took a series of curved lines and connected them to look like a solid surface. Since canyons and streams have a layered texture I tried to convey that through the sketches.

I noticed that the sketches had elements of curves which were similar to those of topographic maps, which are a geographic representations of relief in landscapes on large scales.

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Precedents

Joseph Walsh, an Irish furniture fabrication designer makes custom built items that seem very solid and at the same time appear very dynamic. A lot of his work was inspired by the process of erosion and the constant wearing away of material that creates a very fluid form.

Looking at his wall design, I would want to incorporate the layered structure through subtle changes in the paneling in order to show a more progressive change over time.

The hollowed form of the low desk shows some negative spaces, where it looks like some sort of force like wind or water has weaved in and out of the wood.

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Architecture

Another designer that has done similar work is Robert Bruno who has been building a steel house for over 28 years in Lubbock, Texas. The structure of this house is designed to serve as both a skin and skeleton, holding the integrity of the structure together through weaving shapes.

His process like erosion has taken a considerable amount of time where he gradually builds more structure to the house. The branching and interweaving patterns look like a possible idea to incorporate into my design because of the interesting light and dark contrasts they would have in a lantern.

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The Guangzhou Opera house was a design to fit 1,800 seats in an acoustic space that is used for performance art and theater. The concept was based around the landscape, particularly erosion, geology, and topology. River valleys are a leading part in erosion and were expressed in the design. The exterior has a very circular and lofty surface, while the inside juts in and out in different patterns.

One of the key focuses of this opera house was the lighting. This design seems to reflect on a big part of my lantern design. The open and closed triangular paneling seems to work well with the light and gives the exterior a rough surface. In combination with the layered interior it gives the feeling of motion and fluidity.

Key ideas to focus on: 1. Fluid Motion 2. Layers – (Topography) 3. Negative Space 4. Contrast between light and dark

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Application on the Body

Looking at the design of the lantern on the body, I made some sketches on the possible placement. Placing it around the neck would seem to be the best possible place.

My first mold was a smaller scale test where I concluded it would be difficult to have the mold completely surrounding the neck. Instead, I decided to have the mold lay over the shoulder instead.

The clay model I cam up with next was very smooth and curvy but it would be hard to capture all the depth detail so I set out for simpler model.

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Layers- (Topography)

Using some topographic sketches, I superimposed them onto the model that I had currently made. Using more clay, I added layers and layers in order to create a more pattern like texture. I decided to go with the second sketch since it worked best on the model. Working with the clay I began to notice it was hard to keep the layers separate so I decided to smooth them and emphasize the depth and height of the forms.

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Negative Space

Looking more towards the negative space that the water creates, I made some sketches by drawing shapes and surrounding them with a dark square. I then took then the sketch and superimposed it onto my model. The second model seemed the most appropriate. During the process of removing the clay from the model, the structure was weak so I remolded some areas and curved the overall shape.

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Final Design

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References

Reflection

HowStuffWorks http:// science.howstuffworks.com Robert Bruno Steel House www.robertbruno.com/ Joseph Walsh Studios www.josephwalshstudio.com/ Zaha Hadid Architects http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/guangzhou-opera-house/ The Man Who Loved Fluids. In Flow: Nature’s Patterns

Starting with a simple design and adding more layers of complexity creates a model that is very fluid, almost like water has moved through every crevice. Looking at the Guangzhou Opera house I can see similarities in the model which are a smooth outside and very curvilinear inside. The process of erosion is a constant wearing away of material and is a natural process which focuses on two separate bodies interacting with one another to create a beautiful form. Moving to the paneling will be the next step in configuring the model, and will probably bring my body to the design.

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