Artist:
Dwayne Oyler, Jenny Wu
Title:
Density Fields
Year:
2007
Adress:
1619 Silver Lake Boulevard
www.harpofoundation.org:
The piece extends imaginary lines of force beyond the small courtyard, seeming to pierce buildings and features in the neighborhood.
www.materialsandapplications.org:
An 'extreme cantilever' built from aluminum and polypropylene rope hovers over the courtyard of Materials & Applications in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. This structure is an outdoor installation created by Sci-Arc professors Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu, called Density Fields. Defying classification as either sculpture or architecture, the piece flexes with a gesture that extends imaginary lines of force beyond the small courtyard, seeming to pierce buildings and features of the neighborhood.
The primary structural question Oyler-Wu Collaborative asked is, 'What makes the idea of using lines different in terms of their structural properties?' The idea addresses tensile properties, thereby limiting the structural possibilities, but allowing for a more specific way of designing that exploits tensile strength. This line of inquiry led them to a structural principle that utilizes a dense field of lines. The installation consists of two basic materials: (1) an aluminum frame extending up from the ground and out into the space, and (2) a series of fine, tensioned cables pulling the cantilever in the opposite direction — forcing it to hover above the ground.
The development of this piece began with the imaginary violent attack of the bristling sculpture on the neighboring buildings. Then, with careful editing of the geometrical elements, the sculpture retracted back to its tensed position in the M&A courtyard. Oyler-Wu Collaborative’s goal is to negotiate the structural ideas, the programmatic needs of the space, and the desire to use basic geometries to create a rich spatial experience within the space itself.
www.lebbeuswoods.wordpress.com:
Density Fields grew out of a series of spatial ideas constructed over several years. The early sketches were an investigation into the build up of material densities and their resultant spatial affects. Our interest in constructing those ideas (which varied greatly in their formal qualities) was coupled with the desire to align them with a strategy of engagement specific to a site.
One of our primary concerns in the development of the project has been in seeking a method of development that uses a form of creative and generative study that takes into account the conditions that occur beyond the boundaries of our site. The first series of models study those two conditions separately, indexing and giving physical presence to the otherwise unnoticed series of geometrical relationships.
Two primary 'lines of communication' occurring within the space: 1) those running perpendicular to Silver Lake Boulevard, existing as a series of lines connecting points on both sides of the small courtyard, and 2) those running perpendicular to Silver Lake Boulevard, connecting windows, edge conditions, and points of entry to similar conditions found in and around the existing courtyard.
In combining those lines, the result is an extensive network of connections that are brought to bear on the small and otherwise nondescript site. This model speaks of more than a simple formal intervention, as it suggests a set of social connections, overlaps, and confrontations. The model’s ability to provoke a sense of underlying energies was key in the formation of the intervention that was to come. Our primary intention in the design of the final piece was in translating the provocation, geometry, and vigor of those models into the confines of the site itself.
In doing that, the project required a careful balance of structural ideas, the programmatic needs of the space, and the desire to use basic geometries to create a rich spatial experience. The result is a tremendous cantilever that relies on a delicate and structurally complex combination of aluminum framing and polypropylene rope. We were especially interested in the intricacies of the ropes as they wound their way through the frame creating a complex network of trajectories. It is within this 'field' of rope that the piece is probably most successful, and it is here that it relies heavily on spatial qualities seen in the early ideas.
It is probably also important to say…the piece was welded and installed by our office along with the help of a few volunteers (most notably a few extremely talented individuals in our office); this process of making has been a particularly inspiring development for our office. It has been the third in a line of summer projects that we have designed and built. The lack of conventional separation between design and fabrication has allowed us to use the construction phase as an extension to the design process. It has been especially helpful with our aspiration to create a level of engagement that is equally as powerful at the scale of an individual as it is as a site strategy. Overall, this process has led to a period of material discovery, invention, and experimentation that comes only through the difficult, but profoundly rewarding task of realizing the work on a given site.
The piece extends imaginary lines of force beyond the small courtyard, seeming to pierce buildings and features in the neighborhood.
www.materialsandapplications.org:
An 'extreme cantilever' built from aluminum and polypropylene rope hovers over the courtyard of Materials & Applications in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. This structure is an outdoor installation created by Sci-Arc professors Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu, called Density Fields. Defying classification as either sculpture or architecture, the piece flexes with a gesture that extends imaginary lines of force beyond the small courtyard, seeming to pierce buildings and features of the neighborhood.
The primary structural question Oyler-Wu Collaborative asked is, 'What makes the idea of using lines different in terms of their structural properties?' The idea addresses tensile properties, thereby limiting the structural possibilities, but allowing for a more specific way of designing that exploits tensile strength. This line of inquiry led them to a structural principle that utilizes a dense field of lines. The installation consists of two basic materials: (1) an aluminum frame extending up from the ground and out into the space, and (2) a series of fine, tensioned cables pulling the cantilever in the opposite direction — forcing it to hover above the ground.
The development of this piece began with the imaginary violent attack of the bristling sculpture on the neighboring buildings. Then, with careful editing of the geometrical elements, the sculpture retracted back to its tensed position in the M&A courtyard. Oyler-Wu Collaborative’s goal is to negotiate the structural ideas, the programmatic needs of the space, and the desire to use basic geometries to create a rich spatial experience within the space itself.
www.lebbeuswoods.wordpress.com:
Density Fields grew out of a series of spatial ideas constructed over several years. The early sketches were an investigation into the build up of material densities and their resultant spatial affects. Our interest in constructing those ideas (which varied greatly in their formal qualities) was coupled with the desire to align them with a strategy of engagement specific to a site.
One of our primary concerns in the development of the project has been in seeking a method of development that uses a form of creative and generative study that takes into account the conditions that occur beyond the boundaries of our site. The first series of models study those two conditions separately, indexing and giving physical presence to the otherwise unnoticed series of geometrical relationships.
Two primary 'lines of communication' occurring within the space: 1) those running perpendicular to Silver Lake Boulevard, existing as a series of lines connecting points on both sides of the small courtyard, and 2) those running perpendicular to Silver Lake Boulevard, connecting windows, edge conditions, and points of entry to similar conditions found in and around the existing courtyard.
In combining those lines, the result is an extensive network of connections that are brought to bear on the small and otherwise nondescript site. This model speaks of more than a simple formal intervention, as it suggests a set of social connections, overlaps, and confrontations. The model’s ability to provoke a sense of underlying energies was key in the formation of the intervention that was to come. Our primary intention in the design of the final piece was in translating the provocation, geometry, and vigor of those models into the confines of the site itself.
In doing that, the project required a careful balance of structural ideas, the programmatic needs of the space, and the desire to use basic geometries to create a rich spatial experience. The result is a tremendous cantilever that relies on a delicate and structurally complex combination of aluminum framing and polypropylene rope. We were especially interested in the intricacies of the ropes as they wound their way through the frame creating a complex network of trajectories. It is within this 'field' of rope that the piece is probably most successful, and it is here that it relies heavily on spatial qualities seen in the early ideas.
It is probably also important to say…the piece was welded and installed by our office along with the help of a few volunteers (most notably a few extremely talented individuals in our office); this process of making has been a particularly inspiring development for our office. It has been the third in a line of summer projects that we have designed and built. The lack of conventional separation between design and fabrication has allowed us to use the construction phase as an extension to the design process. It has been especially helpful with our aspiration to create a level of engagement that is equally as powerful at the scale of an individual as it is as a site strategy. Overall, this process has led to a period of material discovery, invention, and experimentation that comes only through the difficult, but profoundly rewarding task of realizing the work on a given site.