SURFACE INTO FORM: Fabric structures installation & events @PLACE, Portland

Designers dream of creating beauty from almost nothing. As a college student, I remember seeing the monumental curved curtain defining the Velvet and Silk Cafe by Lilly Reich with Mies Van der Rohe in 1927. So much expression with so little material! And Frei Otto coaxed soap film into elegant forms for tent structures, inspiring generations of designers to look at nature for efficient form-finding. So I loved learning about the Art Farm hippies urge to democratize architecture with their InflatoCookbook, showing the world that all it takes is a little plastic, some tape and a fan.

With these inspirations, Marziah Rajabzadeh, Mohsen Marizad and I have experimented with how draped and tensioned fabric can sculpt forms to catch light and sculpt space. We have used workshops to study how fabric reacts to different kinds of structural support.

From more open experiments, we hung hoops with strips of cloth for the Shape Dis-Place conference at the HOPES ecological design conference. Participants were invited to use their bodies to pull and distort the fabric. They were given the option of trying rigid sticks and hoops as well as flexible fiberglass rods. In an era where people are glued to electronic screens, manipulating material provides welcome tactile engagement. From the HOPES workshop, we found that while the sheer materials created diaphanous draped forms, knits could be both draped and stretched into attractive curves.

Creating tensile minimal surfaces requires careful cutting and seaming as well as continuous pressure to achieve the desired forms. Emily Stark Ryan helped us enlarge small experiments with embroidery hoops into a large cylinder, then Mohsen and Marziah worked on engineering the balance and detailing the tension connections.

We enjoyed draping catenary curves created from second-hand bedsheets and sheer curtains. The major draped piece alternates 52' long strips with ones that are 31' long, suspended at third points on a hoop between two cables.

For much of the exhibit, I have enlarged small models into room scale sculptures with CNC milling help from Tom Coates and SuperFAB. Below is my Christmas greeting arc-circles on steroids: even without the red uplighting, they acquire a presence from perspective alone.

A wonderful team of assistants led by Francisco Toledo and Bonnie Jean Dominguez have been building the exhibit and developing the spatial placement. We are thrilled to be hosted by PLACE as Zeljka Carol Kekez, Kelly Stoecklein, and many other have been incredibly warm and thoughtful. Paula Barreto is maximizing the light and shadow drama by customizing some LED sources and setting up colored spotlights.

So I hope to see you at the exhibit opening Wed June 21, 6pm-9pm, or one of the two Saturday afternoon workshops July 8 and 29. You can see how to transform bare walls into surfaces for catching shadows. Details are below.

If you can't come to my exhibit in Portland, learn more through these links:

• Aleksandra Kasuba makes fabric into magic.
• Scroll down to see Frei Otto's soap film experiments under Video
• Ant Farm InflatoCookbook: the spirit of the 60's still lives!
• Nancy Cheng's website
• Search Nancy's Diigo links
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