Gradient Term:
As a gradient building I choosed the Eifel tower, which is for sure more an architectural monumet then a building but its shape and construction logic is obviously. The entire infrastructure (stairs, elevator) is constantly smooth shaped focusing to the middel platform and finaly to the top of the tower where visitors can rest.
Transition Term:
The Holocaust Memorial at Berlin by Eisenman, I choosed, because it is a site which is transited by people every day visiting or just crossing it so it is as a part of the infrastructre a kind of a public space. Looking at the site from top view, standing at his boarder or even standing in the center of the field it doesn't matter you have in each viewpoint an other perspective different in gradient, topology and posibility to transit.
Topological Term:
Choosing buildings with an contextual connection to the term of topology I chosed at first the Heat Transfer Station by NL Architect. This buildings connects spatial and surficial qualities in its architecture but still keeps a simple structure. Even its material or more precisely its smooth shaped look gives the building an unique optical appearance. One gets the feeling to be able to shape or deform the building like a block of gum - motivated by the hole located at the one corner.
Preparation of the chickenwire before adding plaster on it . . .
Side view on tube . . . (1.)
Look in the tube view . . . (2.)
Detail view in the tube . . . (3.)
Detail view in the tube . . . (4.)
Look in the tube view . . . (5.)
Detailed side view on the vertical curved plane . . . (6.)
Side view on the curved plane . . . (7.)
Microscopic elements at the boarder of the holes in the macroscopic dominant verticle fixed curved chickenwire . . . (8.)Characteristics for transition I observed in
Transition fluid structure in the vertical fixed plaster model. Picture 9.in picture 9., where a fluid like structure is observable in the vertical fixed plaster model or in
Picture 10.picture 10. where a in layers movement during the layer adding process in the tube fixed plaster model is observable and in
Picture 11.picture 11. one can observe the already dried but still visible growth-process of the stalactite like structures inside the tube during the building procedure.
Analysing the first results and modeling experiences with plaster and chickenwire:I started with a working model characterized by holes which are designed like "doors" or "windows" - means the cutted-off wings remain on one side fixed in the wire plane. I placed some of them randomly across the plane just paying attention that they are opened equaly to both sides. I shaped the plane in a arbitrary way - just not to have a flat plane surface. Hanging the model fixed on wire in the z-y-plane so that the wings are opened up and down.
Putting the plaster in the first step from above - moving to and fro - over the chickenwire nothing remained fixed in the hexagonal wire structure. Almost everthing was falling directly on the ground. Adding more plaster to the water-plaster-solution by the second and further steps the plaster gets accumulated at the top of the wire and at the wings of the holes. Now the entire covering of the wire is a question of the number of layers one adds to the plane. But still almost the greatest plaster accumulation is at the top but with gradient like baviour reducing in the thikness down to the edge of a hole or to the end of the chickenwire. I turned the entire chickenwire ones by 180 degree and repeated the procedure adding plaster - the effect is now basically mirrored - but this mirrored effect may cause the microscopic structures (Picture 8.) at the edge of the holes in the vertical fixed plane wire.
The next experiences I made with a tubed wall model. The effect is similar to the horizontal fixed flat or smooth curved chickenwire we can observe at Mihas model. As the photographs by Miha (horizontal, third picture) and me (horizontal tube, third picture) exhibit. Like in a stalactite cave the plaster is dropping layer by layer through the chickenwire, building up these littel towers in the center of each hexagonal part covering almost the entire pattern.
As Miha and I discussed in the last two days there are basically two possibilities. First the vertical and second the horizontal fixed chickenwire plane. Looking at the vertical postion the dominant effect is the gradient behaviour - accumulation at the top and successive reduction of the tickness of the plaster; primary macroscopic curvation of the wire is taking effect - like wholes, strong curvation or hughe rips like Thomas did it. Microscopic - means details like single hexagonal manipulation - are in relation to big scale curvation in the entire not well recognizable. Concerning the horizontal position - how Miha did it already - one can work on a much more microscopic level.
Regarding my chosen term - topology, gradient and transition - the gradient is the most obviously observable term (thanks to gravity)! The accumulation at the top of the vertical fixed and horizontal tube wire (see pictures 1., 5. and 6.) emerged by the consistency of the plaster and the amount of layer add on the wire. To stress topological characteristics for the vertical fixed plane wire I curved the plane and made holes in it. The plaster did not cover the holes -like expecte - but pave the way accumulating framelike around the hole. As I mentioned above the more macroscopical (thick accumulations) appearance of the resulting structures in the vertical fixed plane one can observe here - at the boarder of the holes - single microscopic detail structures too (Picture 8.). Characteristics for transition are visible in the parts where the plaster shows fluid liked curved traces (see pictures 9. and 10.) and the still visible - evene it is dried - development of the stalactite growing process (Picture 11.).
By choosing the tube curvature for the second working model I already get an interesting space structure which stresses simple but specific topolgical characteristics like the stalactite shaped towers emerged by the hexagonal pattern of the chickenwire. Here in opposite to the vertical wire the microscopic elements dominates (Pictures 3., 4. and 11.) - at least inside the tube. On the top of the tube there is - like expected - the accumulation and the starting gradient behaviour of the plaster towards the sloping curvature of the wire (Picture 1.). The observed transition structure is similar to the vertical fixed model (Pictures 9. and 10.).
Approaches modelling a UrbanMonster by TopMod:
First steps with TopMod creating a simple grid like structure
First steps with TopMod creating a grid like structure
First steps with TopMod creating a grid like structure
Second step connecting simple grid like structure with a medium like plaster
. . . adding a plane to the TopMod object !
