Whirlpool – a swirling body of water produced by the meeting of opposing currents.

Design objectives :

|| elegance

|| simplicity of the form

|| resemblance of the Gaudi’s Panton tile formal language

The “topographical” character of the tile allows for the visual and formal continuity within an assembly of an individual piece and facilitates channeling of the water through the surface of a single unit onto the neighboring units.

With the water flow being one of the dominant aspects of our design several different fluid forms have been tested with the help of a “rheotomic curves” grasshopper script, which in turn lead to the most efficient shape that closely resembles the natural phenomenon of a whirlpool.

Several convergence points have been set to incorporate the assignment constraints related to the tile edge condition, which in turn directed us towards the gradual simplification of the design and the reduction of the curve count, which increased the intensity of the water flow through the surface of the tile. The use of RhinoCam and the combination of several Milling technics allowed for the refined radial engraving finish as well as high precision of the concrete casting process.

Our approach to the exercise was to create joints that by its own movement could change the shape of the structure, for which we created two types of joints, one that allowed us to make the assembly with the base and another that allowed the movement of structure.

During the process we had some challenges , the first approach was to create a two-part piece that attached by a swivel joint allows to rotate on its axis at 360 degrees that due to the constructive system of the 3D printing was impossible to manufacture.

The solution that we came out with was to simplify the system , so that one half of the joint contained a circle on which would rotate the mechanism and the other half that contained the hole where the circle fits will be separated in two pieces, and by joining all the pieces together will allow the mechanism to function properly.

By having joints that rotate 360 degrees allows a variety of positions so that the structure moves , rotates , compresses , stretches , and gives us a lot of versatility for the final shape using the different angles that the design permit. We decided for the final shape to rotate the joints 90 degrees to allow us to turn the rods into loops compressing the structure into a different position from the one at the beginning.

 Hand In Hand, Tower

“The process began with a Spiral as our inspiration. We wanted to explore the potential of the material to its maximum threshold; hence the Spiral was the best fit for our endeavor.

 Working with this geometry helped us discover various complex issues and challenges at every step of construction. The unique module evolved, has been used in different sizes with variations in engravings.

Series of tests were carried out using different spacing between engravings on strips of wood along with soaking them in water. With the said experimentation, we were able to bend the wood significantly more than expected.  The various permutations and combinations of the modules enabled the unique twisting and interlocking between the modules. The final installation is a dynamic structure put together piece by piece, almost in a poetic way, where the form was evolved purely by the properties of the module rather than following a preconceived idea of the form.”