Architecture
Flight Patterns
|| Spring Module: Hypernatural, University of Minnesota ||
|| March, 2015 ||
Featured in Architect Magazine
Flight Patterns was the final culmination of a seven week study of biological integration within design. Alev and I were particularly interested in social behaviors of animals, and the non-verbal communication between members of flocks of birds led us to this luminary.
Each hanging styrofoam shape contains within it four ceramic magnets. These magnets are strategically placed within the overall structure to repel each other. When one piece gets too close to its neighbor, it reacts to its magnet and immediately moves back into place. This prevents tangling with sudden gusts of wind, but also creates a beautiful group movement effect when executed on a large scale.
