mixed-reality

Steampunk: A Futuristic Installation in Tallinn Explores MixReality Assembly Methodologies

Steampunk: A Futuristic Installation in Tallinn Explores Mixed Reality Assembly Methodologies. A curious sight awaits visitors at this year’s Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB) outside the Museum of Estonian Architecture: a monumental sculptural installation appears to have been forcefully tied in a knot by a supernatural power. 

Titled “Steampunk” and made from steam-bent hardwood, the voluptuous pavilion is the winner of TAB’s installation programme ‘Huts and habitats’ and will remain in place until the next edition in 2021. The installation was designed by Soomeen Hahm and Igor Pantic, two tutors from UCL’s Barlett School of Architecture, in collaboration with Gwyllim Jahn and Cameron Newnham, whose Australian company Fologram facilitates the construction of complex designs through the use of Augmented Reality (AR) software, and Format Engineers. Primitive in sensibility and futuristic in aspiration, Steampunk’s natural materials and organic morphology belie the pioneering technology behind its construction.

Collection of Mixed-Reality Assembly Methodologies

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Chosen from a shortlist of more than 137 international submissions, Steampunk’s uniqueness lies not only in the complexity of the design and beauty of its shape but also in the way it was constructed, namely in the use of Mixed-Reality (MR) assembly methodologies. Undoubtedly the most impressive facet of these methodologies, more so than the CNC-milling and 3D printing of various components, was the use of interactive holographic guides in the guise of AR headsets that provided construction workers with holographic instructions on site, eliminating the need to consult drawings – a typical source of errors and miscalculations. It may sound like something out of science fiction movie, we know, but apparently the future is now. Fologram’s software was also instrumental in other aspects of the pavilion’s fabrication and assembly, from steaming each one of the timber components, some of which measure 12m in length, into the desired shape, to bending the 414 unique steel brackets that support the structure.

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mixed-reality
Photo © Tõnu Tunnel.
Photo © Tõnu Tunnel.
Photo © Tõnu Tunnel.

The pavilion’s hybrid construction demonstrates the power of humans and machines working together while also exploring the relationship between nature, architecture and technology. “This pavilion challenges the idea of the primitive hut – showing how, by using algorithmic logic, simple raw materials can be turned into a highly complex and inhabitable structure”, explains architect and curator of the TAB 2019 Installation Programme, Gilles Retsin, in reference to 18th century architectural theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier’s concept of the Primitive Hut which argues that the ideal architectural form embodies what is natural and intrinsic. But more than anything, Steampunk’s beautifully entangled assemblage embodies TAB 2019’s theme, “Beauty Matters”.

Photo © Tõnu Tunnel.
Photo © Tõnu Tunnel.
Photo © Tõnu Tunnel.
Photo © Tõnu Tunnel.
Left to right: Cameron Newnham, Gwyllim Jahn, Soomeen Hahm, Igor Pantic. Photo © Evert Palmets.
Left to right: Cameron Newnham, Gwyllim Jahn, Soomeen Hahm, Igor Pantic. Photo © Evert Palmets.
Sculpture Ideas - Using analogue tools augmented with the precision of mixed reality environments, the designers of this modern sculpture were able to create the curved shape that makes the wood appear as if it's flowing. #Sculpture #PublicArt

Gwyllim Jahn and Cameron Newnham of Fologram, an Australian start-up building AR software for the design and construction industry, together with Soomeen Hahm Design, architect and computational designer Igor Pantic, and Format Engineers, have collaborated to create ‘Steampunk’, a modern curved wood pavilion.


Created as part of the 5th edition of Tallinn Architecture Biennale (TAB 2019), the wood sculpture stands on top of a small mound in front of the Museum of Estonian Architecture.


Sculpture Ideas - Using analogue tools augmented with the precision of mixed reality environments, the designers of this modern sculpture were able to create the curved shape that makes the wood appear as if it's flowing. #Sculpture #PublicArt

Using analogue tools augmented with the precision of mixed reality environments, the designers were able to create the curved shape that makes the wood appear as if it’s flowing.


Sculpture Ideas - Using analogue tools augmented with the precision of mixed reality environments, the designers of this modern sculpture were able to create the curved shape that makes the wood appear as if it's flowing. #Sculpture #PublicArt

Each piece of wood used has been steam-bent to a specific shape, which was then attached to a frame.


Sculpture Ideas - Using analogue tools augmented with the precision of mixed reality environments, the designers of this modern sculpture were able to create the curved shape that makes the wood appear as if it's flowing. #Sculpture #PublicArt

The overall shape of the pavilion allows people to meander through it, exploring and experiencing the details of the design.


Sculpture Ideas - Using analogue tools augmented with the precision of mixed reality environments, the designers of this modern sculpture were able to create the curved shape that makes the wood appear as if it's flowing. #Sculpture #PublicArt

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