Aeolian Process

Aeolian Process

Barnaby Baker

Contents

Aeolian Process : Amalgam : Barnaby Baker : S3343261

• • •

Design Statement Sand Experiment Sand Experiment Drawings

Wind (& Flow) • • • • •

Precedents Flow Drawings Stitching Wind on Site Wind into Form

Time (& Shape) • • • • • • • • •

Precedents Paper Models Developing Shape (through models) Growth Developing Shape (through drawings) Plaster Model Balsa Models Colour Growth & Decay

Land (& Form) • • • •

Precedents Form Drawings Land on Site Land & Wind Becoming Form

Land & Wind • • •

Land & Wind Becoming Form Land With Wind Mounds & Objects (Land & Wind)

Final Drawings • • • • •

Final Plans Wind With Plan (Flow) 13 Sections Time Perspective

Appendix • • • •

Time Layout Sound Written Response (To Readings)

Design Statement

This project is titled Aeolian Process. It looks at the relationship between land, wind and time on site.

The project will do this through the construction of two different types of structures.

The first is a set of uniform, triangular shaped, timber pieces, laid out in a 40m grid. They will be individually angled to align with the wind flow on site.

The second (built at the same time) will be earth mounds running North-South across the grid pattern. These will be laterally curved in shape, in a way that represents the flow of wind. They will contrast against the angular form of the solid structures.

The two components that will affect the site are wind and time, creating land form.

The wind will move and deposit sediment and soil particles around the site and structures.

Over time this Aeolian deposition of soil will lead to it building up over the bare structures put on site.

This soil around the timber structures, whether before or after it builds up, will be claimed back by native plant species on site.

The eventual result will be that the triangular structures will become fully taken over by the natural forces on site. They will become immersed in vegetation, hiding the invisible shapes. The built soil mounds will last longer in their form, but will also become hidden by the natural growth of plants on site.

This project aims to show how natural forces retake man made land and structure, displaying its overall strength over time.

These plants have been able to grow on this concrete slab due to the previous industry rubble left on top of it. This small amount of rubble has been just enough for small sediments in the wind to be caught, and dropped down into it. This sediment has then slowly built up, allowing these plants to colonise.

This concept of gathering sediment was the first point of inspiration for this project.

Sand experiment This project began with these sand experiments. I used these to start looking into land form and flow.

To do this I arranged a channel as a container, then filled it with sand. Water was poured from a point and I looked at the flow lines, patterns and directions this created.

I then continued the experiment by changing factors such as amount of water, speed of water, restrictions on the sand and angles that the water came from.

These images show the results I was interested in.

Sand experiment drawings These paper and charcoal (and 1 felt tip) drawings are my notes and results recorded from the experiment.

I recorded patterns and shapes in the sand, the direction the water took and where it came from. These gave me an insight into what was happening in the experiment and what to try next.

I used charcoal as my drawing material as it gives a quality of flow whilst creating the image, helping to mark the same flow of the water onto the paper.

The brown paper, being similar in colour to the sand, seemed an obvious choice. It also has a softer surface to it than other paper, helping with the flow of lines I was trying to recreate.

At this point in illustrating the project, my development splits into three categories: Wind (& flow), Land (& form) and Time (& shape).

Wind (& Flow)

Precedents

Wind (& flow) Walter De Maria : The Lightning Field

These two precedents are both projects that demonstrate capturing the power of nature and putting it into a visualisation that the audience can physically see and walk through.

Walter De Maria’s project consists of a field of conductive poles, that get struck by lightning if a storm passes over. This gives the audience a new way of looking at nature in this field. They may look at the sky, the weather and try to feel for electricity in the air, just due to his installation. Without these poles set up, people in this field would not be thinking about nature in the same way.

Oerliker Park is a project that is set up to change over time. These grids of trees have been planted to show users of the park what is happening in nature over time. As trees become larger, the grid layout helps give reference to how much they have changed over time, showing the audience the constantly changing face of nature. Trees will be thinned out as they become too large, and each one will grow into its own individual shape and twisted form, changing from a strict ordered grid of plants, to an urban forest.

To people living inner city, this gives them a visualisation of nature at work.

The way these two projects visualise nature in their own way, is inspiration to how I wish to create a visualisation of the wind in my project.

Schweingruber Zulauf : Oerliker Park

Flow Drawings

Wind (& flow)

These pen drawings on the opposite page show the flow of what happened in my sand experiments.

To create these I looked at the patterns in the sand, left behind by the flow of water. I then translated the water as pen lines on the paper.

Each line started at the top of the page, spaced evenly, and then followed what happened in the sand.

As I drew each line this showed me that each line pushes the next one across , creating a solid flow, the same as what must be happening in the water.

These drawings showed clearly the points of calm and intensity in the flow of water, and how they were produced.

Flow Drawings

Wind (& flow)

Stitching

After looking at the detail of flow through my line drawings I began making models of the flow through the process of folding and stitching paper.

These models showed me another level of what was happening in the flow of the water, and how the pushing and pulling of flow directed itself to different areas.

The stitch here holds the moment in time (of flow), into the paper. It acts as a stationary version of the moving forces that are happening in the flow of water.

I then re-drew these models onto paper again, looking at the construction of them, highlighting to me the detail of what the stitches where doing and where.

I also made charcoal rubbings of them to look at the shapes of the paper (which later becomes the land).

Wind (& flow)

Stitching

Wind (& flow)

Wind on Site

Wind (& flow)

Wind on Site

The site where the project is designed to is Altona Coastal Park, in Altona Melbourne. It is located in the bay on the sea front.

This flat wetland is currently bare and empty infrastructure wise, but is home to rich wildlife and vegetation. It’s flatness and proximity to the sea make this a windy location in Melbourne, which is shown in the images opposite (left), from the wind formed trees to the water like grasses moving in the wind.

To begin working with this powerful wind I found data online, (http://www.windfinder.com/windstats/windstatistic_map_victoria.htm) recording wind strength and direction averages for points in the bay. This allowed me to create this wind direction key in the drawing below.

From this key I drew the wind lines sketch (bottom right). I did this drawing in the same style to how I created my original flow drawings of the sand and water.

Wind (& flow)

Wind into Form

Wind (& flow)

Wind into Form

From the ‘Wind Lines’ drawing (previous page) I created these sketch plans on these two pages. At this point I had decided on the pieces that will be the physical visualisation of my project: The timber units.

These timber pieces are the triangles seen on these plans.

The wind lines from the previous drawing have been used here to create lines in which the timber pieces are aligned to. The positioning of the timber pieces are on a grid, helping show the angle they are at clearly, against each other.

The plan below (left) has the timber pieces (the triangles), but also shows the earth mounds (running North South). Here these mounds show the wind lines and then the triangles are angled with them.

They drawing to the right of it are sections through each line of the timber units, (though East to West).

Wind (& flow)

Wind into Form

Wind (& flow)

These photos opposite are a stitch version of the previous plan (previous page). I made this model for the same reasons as the stitch models of the flow drawings earlier.

It showed me some more detail and insight into the push and pull of wind lines in my plan.

It also gave me the point of development that the earlier stitch models had created, instead of studying the wind in 2D, this brought back the third dimension to study my work through.

Wind into Form

Wind (& flow)

This next section is of the development of ‘Time’.

The main feature in this project that visualises and represents time are the timber pieces, so these are the ‘Shape’ element to this section.

Time (& Shape)

Precedents

Time (& Shape)

Klahn & Singer : Garden of Babel

These two pieces are landscape projects that are taken over by nature. Both are placed into nature and left to their own devices. They both deteriorate, change in form, and Nash’s changes location, but both are still just as powerful at any point in their life span. This is the point of them, to change over time is the project.

The Garden of Babel is a stack of straw bales, representing Babylon and The Tower of Babel, and their imminent weaknesses.

The bales are crisp and neat in the beginning and then deteriorate through sagging and collapse. Plants also colonise these bales and turn the piece into a completely different thing over time.

Nash’s Wooden Boulder is a chunk of wood Nash cut originally for himself from a friend’s tree, but then left in a local stream as a sculptural piece. After a storm the boulder began to move downstream.

After a 25 year journey the boulder made it an estuary where it was last seen.

This journey became the project, becoming much more important than the boulder itself.

David Nash : Wooden Boulder

Paper Models

Time (& Shape)

These paper models came from the same style of models made to imitate the sand experiments shown in the previous section (Wind), but apart from style, they are unrelated, I made these models in the search for shape, and sewing techniques. They each show different ways of showing the pushes and pulls that the stitch can create.

Paper Models

Time (& Shape)

Developing Shape (through models)

This image below (left) is the first form idea of the timber pieces in my project. The shape and creation method of it came directly from the paper models on the previous page.

I then stitched images of site vegetation onto the sides to represent the concept of how they will work.

The image to the right is then a card concept version. I used card for greater strength and also added a piece that crosses horizontally for fixing, also this could be another element used to catch sediment in the wind.

Time (& Shape)

Growth

Using the cardboard model, shown on the previous page, these images show a representation of the growth that will happen on site, over time.

Running left to right, top to bottom, these images show how initially they will be seen clearly, then become more and more hidden until they are overcome with vegetation and disappear.

The model was made with mustard seeds planted on soil around them. Although this does show the change in vegetation over time, it does not represent the build up of soil over the pieces, or how they may deteriorate.

Time (& Shape)

Developing Shape (though drawings)

Time (& Shape)

These drawings on the opposite page show my development of the shape of my timber pieces.

The drawings show size (through the drawing with the person included), build up of soil and plants, and context to the site.

Developing Shape (though drawings)

Time (& Shape)

Plaster Model

This plaster Model is a visualisation of my plan at the last stage of the ‘Wind into Form’ in the ‘Wind (& Flow)’ section. This model shows the relationship of the timber pieces to the earth mounds.

It also shows some scale with a person put in the model in the bottom right image, (in the top right corner of the photo).

Time (& Shape)

Balsa Models

These images show different construction types of the timber pieces, with the two images at the bottom of the page being the final choice.

The angle of the timber in the final choice is sloping with the length of the triangle. This gives the impression the objects are sticking out from the ground.

The layout of the individual pieces also means that when the planks decay and possibly fall off, the objects will still keep the same shape.

Time (& Shape)

Colour

These images show the timber objects with their final finish on. They will be gilded in a bronze leaf, bringing a shine to them in the light, and the colour will contrast against the dark sky that comes across the site from over the sea.

This colour will also bring another form of decay over time, as seen on the page opposite.

Time (& Shape)

Growth & Decay

This is the decay of the timber and guild, and the growth of the vegetation around them.

The soil will build up slowly as meanwhile the timber rots, until with both processes working together, the pieces disappear.

Time (& Shape)

The next section is about Land. The land will be created by the wind.

Land (& Form)

Precedents

Land (& Form)

Robert Smithson : Spiral Jetty

These two artists have designed work to sit in nature, in harmony with it.

Their pieces are placed carefully in material, shape and size. This care to make them fit with their surroundings helps them become part of the land, as if the work itself has been formed by nature.

This harmony with nature and the land is something I wish to create in my project.

Richard Long : Sahara Line & Circle in Africa

Form Drawings

Land (& Form)

These drawings opposite are made from the previous flow drawings, in the Wind (& flow) section.

Like the flow drawings, the vertical lines are representing the flow of water. But here, they have horizontal lines with them, which are pulled and ordered by the vertical flow lines.

These horizontal lines represent the sand in the experiment, the land.

Flow drawing example.

Land on Site

Land (& Form)

This is the rich, varied vegetation that consumes the site. It creates habitat for a range of rare, and common wildlife.

This vegetation will be the final coat to the earth mounds and timber structures that would be put on site with this project.

Land on Site

Land (& Form)

This plan to the right is a rough marking of the different vegetation types that dominate the site.

The sections below are sketches at random points on site.

The land form on site is mainly flat, with a deep plant covering. There are a few small ditches and ridges, and various patches of leftover concrete pads and walls, but these are gradually being consumed back by the site.

Land & Wind Becoming Form

Land (& Form)

This black and white charcoal image to the right was made using the stitched model of this plan to the left.

Using a rubbing technique, the black charcoal picked up the most prominent lines from the stitched model.

Using a white charcoal pencil I highlighted these lines.

The white lines will then become the form of the earth mounds on site.

Land & Wind Becoming Form

Land (& Form)

At this point in development, Land and Wind come together, the shapes from the Time (Shape) section also are part of this development.

Land & Wind

Land & Wind Becoming Form

Land & Wind

These drawings opposite come directly from the previous black and white charcoal drawing.

From left to right I have taken the white lines from the charcoal drawing, made them clearer, and then put them into site. The drawing on brown paper shows the width of the mounds with white on one site of the ridge and black on the other. It also includes the horizontal lines which represent land.

Land & Wind Becoming Form

Land & Wind

Land & Wind Becoming Form

This image uses the same lines and shapes as the brown paper image on the previous page. Here though the mound’s contours are graded with lighter charcoal showing highest points and darker for the lower.

I have also included the timber objects, shown in white and grey charcoal.

At this point the timber objects have been thinned out by removing any that sit on top of the mounds.

Land & Wind

Land with Wind

Land & Wind

The drawings on these two pages show the Land with the Wind flowing through it. These are done with the same method used to create my original flow drawings of the sand and water experiments.

The images on the left are zoomed in on one area, and the drawings on the page opposite are of the site as a whole.

Land with Wind

Wind From North

Land & Wind

Wind from South

Mounds & Objects (Wind & Land)

Land & Wind

From the previous Land with Wind drawings I created this new plan of the earth mounds to the right.

In the wind drawing, points of intensity and calm are shown. Using this information I altered the gradients of the earth mounds.

Points of intense wind become steep banks on the mounds, and the calm areas then produce gentle slopes.

This alters the height and width, making the mounds dynamically shaped to the wind that will be flowing through them.

The drawing far right shows the new layout of the timber objects, which will be laid out between the mounds.

These objects are all aligned with the flow of the mounds.

Mounds & Objects (Wind & Land)

Land & Wind

Mounds Objects

100m

100m

Final Drawings

Final Plans

Final Drawings

Average Wind Conditions

These two pages show the last plan of the project. This arrangement is how the process would begin if it was implemented on site.

The drawing on the left illustrates the site with other areas showing context. It also includes the wind map that originally began the ordering of this design.

The plan to the right is a closer version, showing the widths of each mound.

200m

Final Plans

Final Drawings

200m

Wind With Plan (Flow)

Final Drawings

These drawings to the left are flow plans relating to the final design. They show examples of how the wind would flow between the earth mounds, if coming from the North or the South. These are the two most common directions of wind in Altona.

The plan to the right is showing the wind flowing from the North, layered over the site plan, Showing the way the wind is altered in direction by the individual mounds.

Wind From North

Wind From South

Wind With Plan (Flow)

Final Drawings

13 Sections

Final Drawings

This drawing opposite (right) shows 13 sections taken through site. Each section line runs through the line of timber objects, shown on the plan to the left.

This section shows the relationship of the objects to the mounds, and the individual shaping of each earth mound.

13 Sections

Final Drawings

Time

This a simple Photoshop created image of the time process that will happen in this project.

It shows the gradual disappearance of the timber structures into the vegetation.

Final Drawings

Perspective

The perspective drawing shows the timber objects and their proximity to each other, with the earth mounds.

This charcoal and pencil visualisation is of the project at its beginning, before any growth or build up of soil.

Final Drawings

Appendix

Time

Appendix

These perspective drawings were made at an earlier stage to represent the change over time.

These drawings did not fit in with the rest of the time section due to the material choice at the time of these drawings.

At this point in time, my intention was to have the triangular pieces made of a metal. This would have been a gold colour, which is where the idea for the bronze gilded timber came from.

Layout

Appendix

This layout plan was one of my first ideas, before the grid plan.

This plan would have compromised of a single line running through the site, from the sea to the river.

I decided against this linear plan as there would be little I could do with it development wise.

The grid layout brought much more opportunities to include other depths into the project.

Layout

Appendix

This is the first grid layout plan I made.

The grid is only inside the circular path that is on site.

The reason I wanted to only use this space is that my project is something that may be hard to see.

Due to snakes, people rarely leave the paths, so by putting the project in the centre of the main path system, people will still be able to view it. The more adventurous types can still get to the middle and view the project without interruption from passers by.

Sound

Appendix

Luke Jerram : Aeolus

Sound version

Sound

Appendix

At one point in development I thought about designing the triangular objects in a way that they could produce sound.

Luke Jerram’s installation, Aeolus, is a sound sculpture which produces sound through many wind organs, with a central listening area.

My idea was to create something similar to one of these wind organs, and use it as a top piece to the structures. (pictured left) This would then let the audience hear the wind, as well as see it’s form.

The sound idea gave me a new plan for the layout.

These plans to the left show curves of sound, with an intense, middle spiral.

I decided against this sound idea, as it seemed like it may have come across a bit gimmicky, and it was becoming a hindrance to the development of other parts of the project.

Written Response (To Readings)

Appendix

The two readings discussed are ‘Flying the Bullet’ by Sandford Kwinter and ‘Gordon Matta-Clark: Matter Materiality, Entropy, Alchemy’ by Stephen Walker.

The two readings both offer opinions on pushing boundaries in different forms.

Flying the Bullet approaches the concept of pushing boundaries by making comparisons of architecture to fighter pilot Chuck Yeager. Yeager is said to be one of the best fighter pilots known, he is said to have a connection with the plane which involves the plane becoming an extension of himself. This connection allows Yeager to fly his plane closer to the boundary of impossible, without getting shot.

He achieves this is by using his ‘cardinal rule’, to ‘never become predictable’. Kwinter goes on to write that architects too need to ‘never become predictable’, to avoid the ‘(history/capital) on your tail’. He also writes that Yeager’s connection with the plane is one that requires, and needs to involve, ‘not thinking’.

Kwinter’s text compares that to be able to simply do, without the need to think, is also the key to become a great architect,.

Walker’s text is about the work of Gordon Matta-Clark and his experiments with materials. Walker describes Matta-Clark’s work to challenge material’s ‘assumed relationships to space and time by exploring how changes could be brought to, and brought about, by matter’.

He goes on to write, Matta-Clark ‘refuted concepts of matter that held it as a simple problem, something to be overcome (through the use of quantifiable scientific method)’.

This text explains that Matta-Clark worked to discover new relationships between materials, using scientific methodology but his own hit or miss ingredients.