3G Chicago

TYPE Installation
STATUS Commission, Built
LOCATION Chicago, USA
YEAR 2006
CLIENT Extension Gallery 

DESIGN TEAM Eva Castro, Ulla Hell, Holger Kehne

Geometric key points that define the gallery through the three axis of the Cartesian organization system were identified to form the hinges between existing and new. These points were connected directly through vectors that form three distinct strands. Each segment was then divided into 10 parts, and triangles were subsequently created by connecting groups of three corresponding points along the segments. This virtual model was translated, with support from Arup, into a tensegrity structure that further promotes the legibility of interdependencies between the static systems of old and new. The arrays of triangles produce mathematically precise yet elusive kinetic spatial effects, transforming visitors into optical machines that flow from edge alignments toward their gradual dissolution.

After dark, movies by Douglas Spencer using Plasma projects and slides of Plasma Studio’s work are projected onto the panels from different angles. Fluctuating virtual patterns are dissected and caught by the triangular shards, collapsing into a dream-like space of geometry in motion. The installation defies definitions of what is supposedly art and what architecture. It discusses issues of perception and the relationship between people and space in a non - utilitarian way, yet its basis are practical architectural processes and the use of descriptive geometry. It was conceived with enthusiasm by Chicago’s art and architecture communities alike.