I attended the Heatherwick
Studio exhibit at the Hammer Museum this last Sunday afternoon. This
architecture and design studio is a fantastic example of the combination of
art, math, and architecture applied to the real world. The studio’s goal is to
create new and innovative solutions to modern day engineering problems while
also creating aesthetic, beautiful designs.
Me in front of the Gallery Me with
a Hammer Museum Employee
What
I liked most about the exhibit was that each design posed a creative solution
to a real world question. For example, the below pictures show the studio’s
answer to the question “Can a drawbridge open without breaking?” With the ideal
that a bridge is public art, the studio created a curling bridge that is
artistically beautiful and also completely functional engineering. I plan to
implement this method of problem solving for my midterm/final for this class by
first asking a question and then brainstorming how to solve it.
Model of curling bridge Picture of curling bridge
I was inspired by the idea that engineering
infrastructures can be art but also the opposite—that art can also be
functioning engineering. This shows that art and math are intertwined and can
lift the other up to create new perspectives.
Concept art of a park that is also a bridge
One of my favorite designs was a symmetric rotating
chair. While I do not think it may have many uses, I believe it demonstrated an
important ideal that both art and science should incorporate. This ideal is to
experiment and create new things out of a desire to learn and pure curiosity.
The studio designed this chair because it was interested in knowing if it could
use a technique of spinning metal used to make gas cylinders and timpani drums
in other ways.
The chair design
Me in the chair!
I would highly recommend a visit to this exhibit. It
displays interesting and beautiful designs and shows in action how art and math
can influence each other to create innovative and inspiring designs.
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