[ The goal for this project was to create a 3”x3”x1” plaster cast out of an object that would have some meaning to the project ahead--whether it be site related, movement related; anything. Through trial we would choose one cast that represented our ideas the strongest. ]
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For my plaster cast, I casted a piece of ribbon that wrapped from the bottom of the mold to the very top. The cast was representative of a few different ideas. The ribbon being cast around the plaster was done in one piece, implying fluidity--much
like that of the river itself. Casting the ribbon would also create various indentations and breaks throughout the plaster cast--the texture of the ribbon contrasting that of the plaster itself. This would be representative of the alteration of the site, where the eventual building and the water would start to imprint itself within the landscape.
This cast ended up setting into something relatively delicate--precious even. The ideas of continuity, wrapping, layering, and breaking, were ideas represented in this cast that ultimately became extremely relevant to the design of the upcoming Dragon Boat Facility project.
After creating the casts, we transitioned into two two-dimensional drawings. WIth one of them, we would unfold the cast and generate drawings that represented how we read surfaces. With the other, we would draw from only one surface and create a drawing that is more “abstract” in appearance.
The drawing above is an exploration of the shadows that the cast created, as the shadows implied varying depths of the cast.
The drawing below analyzes the bottom face of the cast, as it had the most texture and depth. What was particularly
interesting about this side of the cast was the clear difference between the casted object and the plaster, where you can see exactly where the plaster breaks off and the ribbon indents itself into the material.
interesting about this side of the cast was the clear difference between the casted object and the plaster, where you can see exactly where the plaster breaks off and the ribbon indents itself into the material.
This drawing would extrude the lines found within the cast and, again, highlight the varying shadows and breaks. What was most important to note here was a straight, hard edge being broken into. The two straight (and rather small) edges are emphasized, with the drawings around it being representative of something breaking that hard geometry.
The next step of this process would be to take these two-dimensional drawings and turn them back into something three-dimensional.
Using the cast analysis drawings, an armature was to be created that held the cast 14” off the ground--representative of the 14’ flood line that would have to be accounted for in the final project. What I found to be most important in my drawings were the ideas of verticality and revealing. From the drawings I decided the strong vertical lines appeared like a section cut which
ended up driving what would happen with my armature.
ended up driving what would happen with my armature.
Determining the drawing as a section allowed me to play with the idea that the cast was actually cantilevering over something and could be pushed and pulled back. Yet the only moments it would be held at were at the top left and the bottom right corners. To make it possible, the cantilever was built into a very dense, heavy base to keep the delicate cast from falling.
The armature itself acts as hardly anything holding up a delicate cast, but it is still tightly secured.
The armature itself acts as hardly anything holding up a delicate cast, but it is still tightly secured.
