KITES & DUNES

Design Studio 2, Midterm PortfolioArch 102

Professor: Amily HuangStudent: Craig Dias

IMAGE: RON COGSWELL

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At the beginning of the project I had no clear direction in which to head. Though our guidelines were quite clear, objectives to be met laid out, it was up to us where to take it. How overwhelming this can be is, almost, indescribable. The project can go in any direc-tion and any direction seems as good as the next. A single shape can be arranged in a million di�erent ways, mean a million di�er-ent things; but which one to choose? Perhaps it is only our desire to create something that we are at peace with calling our own creation that awakens this viscous beast of anxiety within us to rampage through our very essence. If that is so, we can only steel ourselves against it and prepare for its wake; the only other option would be cold indi�erence to our own work, neglecting our creation. This of course is not an option.

Knowledge is key and allows us to plan, to be prepared. I began by doing research, looking into the history of kites. Considered by NASA as the first “heavier than air” object to fly. Kites act on two important principles that govern all flight, lift and drag. Invented in China during the 5th century BC, kite design also played a role in the development of modern aviation. Lawrence Hargrave, considered the inventor of the box kite, originally tested the design as an answer for a manned flight vehicle. Alexander Bell created the tetrahedral kite which he also proposed as a possible solution for manned flight.

Branching out, I decided to look into a personal interest for more inspiration. I have always been inspired by pictures of deserts and sand dunes; vast expanses of sand and rock melding together to create an incredibly inhospitable zone. Yet even here, beyond all odds, life exists. It was the sand dunes that I decided to focus my attention on however. Not knowing how they were formed I

started looking into their beginnings. Unsurprisingly, one of the most important elements to the formation of sand dunes is, say it with me now, wind. Also, sand. What did catch my attention though was that they need a third element to form, a “geographi-cal feature for the sand to catch on”. This was something I had never considered before that underneath these dunes was a hidden rock face that had been covered by sand over a long period of time.

This idea of an inner character to these dunes, that underneath their surfaces was a rich foundation defining their outer shape became a key focal point for this project. This was the idea I was looking for, the springboard I needed to start making leaps forward. It was only through this research that I was able to start eliminating options and finding possibilities, inspirations amongst the rampaging torrent within.

With the first building block in place, I looked back at my research on the kite and its history, more specifically at the shape of the tetrahedral. Digging deeper, I found that the tetrahedron, as a regular shape, could be combined together to form other regular shapes like the octahedron. This led me to look at di�erent math-ematical formulas for forming lattices, most of which I do not understand. The pictures however were captivating. Set in an infinite space, the pattern expanded in all directions drawing your focus o� into the distance then drawing it back out to hone in on more recognizable shapes and patterns. It seemed that my eye was constantly shifting back and forth and all around the image, focusing, unfocusing, then refocusing on something else without ever feeling disoriented or repulsed. Maybe this is due to the pattern being made of regular shapes and we are taking note of this innate unity that exists whether we are aware of it or not. Whatever the case, I wanted to represent this layering, this visual complexity in some way.

IMAGE: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE/CORBISIMAGE: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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BUILDING A CONTEXT

Having shaped the context in which to work I began experimenting. I knew I wanted to start with building the “mountain”; my plan at this point was to then layer a skin on top, representing both the sand hiding the dunes structure and the wind gusting over the top. My first attempts were too literal and uninspiring though; looking back it seems I was almost trying to create a mountain range rather than a large geographical feature.

Originally using a solid shape I decided to try building the tetrahedral as a frame rather than a shape. The result was immediately pleasing. As a test I placed a smaller tetrahe-dral within the larger one as though it were suspended and really liked the way it looked. I decided then to attach two tetrahedrals to the original as a way of adding visual interest. While it represented this idea of building an inner character my attempts at the rock face were still at a halt. Using wood pieces instead of solid shapes did add a fragility to the model that I hadn't anticipated which worked well with the suspended piece inside. I took note of this to add emphasis to it later on.

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FIRST STEPS

It was in class the next day when more of the path the model wanted to follow was revealed. Based on the critiques from the class, I tried flipping the model around, on its top, on its side. This did wonders, making the shapes appear as though they were lifting o� the ground like a peak, turning the regular shapes into the beginning of something abstract. I began expanding on this iteration, giving it a base formed as an equilateral triangle to further push the use of regular shapes. Placing my existing model on one corner I decided to contrast the regularity and symmetry by making the opposing side of irregular shapes. Lowering the height gradually on this side helped emphasize the boldness of the peak, to make it appear as though it were shooting up into the sky. I continued to make the shapes as a frame to continue the feeling of fragility and tension.

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Feedback from the class the next week again had me rotating the model in every possible direction. The most important point was breaking up the base somehow, giving it some definition by elevating it in some way. I took a lot of pictures at this point with a lot of close ups. Its surprising how helpful this can be, that by just snap-ping a quick picture you can get a totally different and new perspective on something you've been studying for hours. I found a few shapes that had already existed in the model that I wanted to try to pronounce along with identifying potential problems with elevating the entire model.

The whole design became much more dynamic when I rotated it along one of its axis. The original “peak” that had formed became even more pronounced and was accompanied now by a sibling peak. How-ever, like the flatness of the original base, this new pivot point was also too flat, detracting from the dynamic quality that had been found. To try to re-establish the harmony the model desired, I added the fourth tetrahedral to this side which also served as an effective anchor point to support this new design.

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BUILDING UP

Skinning the model became the next prior-ity. Up to this point I was still assuming that I would lay some sort of covering over the top acting as sectioned pieces that would give the model a soft curve to contrast the hard frame while also making it feel more solid, tangible. That was the idea yet anything I tried seemed to contradict what the model wanted. I decided to look at the interior, at further emphasizing this notion of an inner character. Though adding further floating shapes came to mind, the repetition would have become overwhelming and boring.

I remembered from my math classes graphs that formed beautiful curves, line upon line connecting at different points to create another shape entirely. Rotating cubes around on my computer I found that by connecting the right beams in the model I was able to create this same effect. As an added bonus, the curvature formed by the lines changed as the model was rotated, creating a natural implied movement that hadn't been present before. The lines also filled in the shapes giving it a more solid feel while complementing the tension and fragil-ity that already existed.

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THREADS

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At this point, with a context set and the concept fleshed out, I took to filling in the gaps. I added four more sets of threads, tied symmetrically relative to each other on the asymmetrical side of the model bringing balance back to the overall design. While the empty space was filled, the use of these threads did not form into an idea until after I had constructed the base model. Due to this, my construction of the asymmetrical side did not take this into account and so the sets here lack some of the dynamic qual-ity I found with the first set I tied.

Despite this I think the sets, layered in this way did create the visual distortion I had experienced when looking into the different lattices, drawing your focus in then allowing your eye to back out., not allowing the model to be taken in through a single glance. In hindsight I think adding more color variation would have emphasized this to a greater degree. I think keeping each set a uniform color and alternating the colors of each set would have done the trick.

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Along with these sets I started work on the final base of the model. Angling the model by about 60 degrees had given it a much more dramatic quality but exposed the base, leaving an empty void of nothingness. This also made the equilateral triangle a focal point, severely detracting from the sense of an abstract form. To counter this I pulled lines down to connect to the ground plane. Using triangles I tried to arrange them in a way that they would mask the symmetry of the original base while also reinforcing the idea of a rock formation. I used chipboard pieces instead of threads as an experiment in contrasting materials, scale, and repetition. The implied curvature of the pattern is much more pronounced here which I think contrasted the subtlety of the thin threads nicely.

Personally this semester has helped me build a workflow for the beginning of a project. This was the most challenging part of the whole process. Where to start. With everything and anything being an option its amazing how difficult it can be to even begin to make a choice. Yet establishing this frame, taking the extra time to establish a context proved invaluable. Researching different topics, finding interesting tidbits even if only so on a personal level and following up on them. Most of the informa-tion I gathered I never directly used but I believe that it still helped to inform the context I needed. It never hurts to learn some new bits and bobs and it was only through digging past the info I didn't use that I found the info that inspired me.

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