This architectural installation is part Twenty-First century tensile structure and part tribute to Disney Studio’s sci-fi cult film The Black Hole. The installation is designed to warp the flow of an outdoor space with a feather-weight rendition of “the deadliest force in the Universe,” and is constructed in tinted mylar that resembles stained glass. It swirled above the outdoor courtyard all summer long as an assembly of 512 unique instances of a single but parametrically variable component. The canopy’s extreme intricacy and repetitiveness pay homage to actor Maximilian Schell’s character, Dr. Reinhardt of The Black Hole, a tyrant who wishes to harness the “power of the vortex” and possess “the great truth of the unknown!”

Sound installation, “Resonant Amplified Vortex Emitter,” by James Lumb.

Images

Benjamin Ball is an architect and former production designer. Gaston Nogues is an architect and a product designer at Frank Gehry Partners. They design objects and environments using a combination of hand-made prototypes, sophisticated digital design and fabrication tools.

Special thanks to:
Dewey Ambrosio, Miranda Banks, Freya Bardell, David Bott, Siobhan Burke, Scott Carter, Malachi Conolly, Ben Dean, Stephanie Elliot, Rachel Francisco, Rob Fitzgerald, Linda Graveline, Andrew Hardaway, Tony Hudgins, Leigh Jerard, Tim Levin, Jonny Lieberman, Brandie Lockett, Kellie Lumb, Alexandra Isaievych, Alex MikoLevine, Fred Moralis, Jim Miller, Phil Miller, Karen Nogues, pAdlAb, Harry Pattison, Joanne Pink-Tool, Jeremy Rothe-Kushel, Edward Shelton, Dieter Strolbel, Joe Sturges, Elizabeth Tremante, Hardy Wronskie, and Bryant Yeh.