Client: Minh Lan TranArtist: Minh Lan Tran, Architect - Micaela CostaLocation: Warsaw, Poland
Date: 2026-04-02 00:00:00 +0000 UTCTags: Canvas, Steel, Digital Design, Parametric Design, CNC
Minh Lan Tran Spine
Spine by artist Minh Lan Tran was an invited commission for the central atrium space of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. The soaring 19m long canvas extends vertically between subtle and elegant steel supports at ground and ceiling level, the natural arc of the work working cleverly with the spatial constraints of the building. This was a highly unusual work of Engineering, rather than designing a structure onto which is applied the art, in this instance the canvas, a natural latex sheet, IS the structure. The material properties of the latex, how that would be affected by the glued connections between the smaller sheets that make up the whole and even the stiffness of the paint itself were modelled and analysed in 3d using our long-standing tool K2E for Grasshopper. By using complex computational tools we were able to predict the degree of elongation and the draped shape of the work. Armed with this information the Architect for the work, Micaela Costa was able to plan the spatial arrangement. Our work also included the concept and detailed design of the minimal steel and aluminium connections to the museum, all of which we designed to not damaged the fabric of the building.
More details of the work can be found here: https://artmuseum.pl/en/exhibitions/minh-lan-tran-spine
All photos - Micaela Costa Schwarzenberg