One of our first suspended artworks where we experimented with color mapping. We used a version of our typical paneling details for the larger mylar surface and colored polyester gels for the inner colored overlay panels. The color panels are designed to have a larger “scale” that flops over and blows in the wind while filtering the sunlight onto the ground below. This was also one of our first truly form found structures. We worked with the New York Arup office on the form and engineering. You can see the structural analysis and material test int he video above.

The suspended structure was attached at 3 points to surrounding buildings and the top ring was pulled to another point eight stories up in the Puck Building. The core of the surface where the bottom circular opening inverts into an “oculus” was the portion we color mapped with 6 colors. To achieve a gradient we mapped the colors on three patches of the surface based on panel height and then randomized those color positions to remove any banding since we were using only a handful of colors.

The colored panels spanned the mylar X panels that acted as the structural net. As they overlapped it further added to the the color mixing. As the colored panels get larger (more surface area) the upper portion of the panel gets longer This portion was not attached to the mylar net so it would blow in the wind more in the larger central panels, creating an animated mixing of color and more dynamic patterns on the ground and surrounding surfaces as the sunlight passed through the panels.