Client: University of Westminsterarchitect: Arthur Mamou-Mani/Toby Burgess Unit DS10, University of WestminsterLocation: Black Rock, Nevada
Date: 2013-08-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTCTags: United States, art, timber, digital, fabrication
Burning Man 2013
A Ramboll project
Every year Westminster School of Architecture set their Part 2 students the challenge of designing a installation at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. For 2013 two ideas were selected; the Shipwreck, an elegantly curving timber structure and Fractal Cult, an aluminium scaffold and timber frame of decomposed pyramids.
Our experience of digital fabrication and quick erection of complex structures was crucial in being able to break down both pieces into elements that could be fabricated by simple machinery local to the site and then built by the students themselves with little resources. As it was impossible to prevent festival goers from climbing the installations rigorous structural analysis was needed to prove they would remain intact over their life span.
Working within a collaborative Rhino/Grasshopper model the team was able to meet the tight timescale for design and erection.