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2008_TransformationofaNecklaceDome permalink

  • "Transformation of a Necklace Dome" (a.k.a. Alive, son of Awake) Whitney Museum, NY
    Multiply weak forces until they become rigid...In dialogue with Fuller's "Necklace Dome" engineering experiments, structural hanging chain models, and geological structures (stalactites) Transformation of a Necklace Dome works with a system of over 5,000 aluminum rods. Their connections are flexible locally, but within an overly redundant network of forces they perform as a rigid structure. The structural network is constructed of tetrahedrons that differ in length and scale, subdividing as they grow closer to the ground (similar to a Fibonacci series in reverse.) Because the structural system is hung from the ceiling, as the system approaches the ground there are more subdivisions subsequently resulting in an object that is more rigid at the bottom and more flexible at the top. The structure was developed using various scripts in order to "grow" structure - collapsing two aspects of Fuller's legacy (the structural + the environmental.) Transformation of a Necklace Dome uses both the structural determinism of engineering with the open in-determinism of nature and growth algorithms, ultimately intensifying structure to create a singular object akin to a wire-frame cloud or cavern, a micro-environment within the museum.
    Photos by Michael Vahrenwald
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    2008 - MOVIE
    "Transformation of a Necklace Dome" (a.k.a. Alive, son of Awake) Whitney Museum, NY