Client: Loop.pHartist: Loop.pHLocation: Greenwich Village, New York
Date: 2012-12-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTCTags: United States, art, bending active, art, carbon fibre, arch
Belvedere Sculpture
A Ramboll project
How to make a flat arch of 80 thin carbon fibre rods stand up against a high New York wind loads? How to accurately predict the shape of the rods as they are forced into shape and held in ‘active bending’?
We worked with London based artists Loop.pH to meet these challenges and help realise the centre piece Belvedere Vodka sponsored arch at the World Aids day festival in New York’s Meatpacking District. The solution was to rely upon our expertise in generative modelling and automatic structural form finding to morph the flat arch into an inherently more stable twisted shape when held together with CNC milled perspex ribs and to use the Kangaroo plug-in for Rhino/Grasshopper to model the deflected form to a high accuracy.
Working to a very tight deadline we were able to prove the stability of the structure to the satisfaction of the city authorities and gave practical assistance in its erection.