Industrial objects for non-industrial people

Industrial objects for non-industrial people

The Shukhov radio tower

The 160-metre-high free-standing steel structure designed by

Vladimir Shukhov built during the Russian Civil War.

               

 I firstly researched the tower a little more and found some interesting pictures from different angles.

Initial ideas

 I began to sketch some initial ideas and started to think about functionality and materials that I could use.

My ideas are simplified versions of the tower although I wanted to maintain the shape of the tower itself in all of my designs. I feel these ideas will be more attractive and functional as I begin to create them.

Using some scrap wires, cables and wood I put my ideas into practise and began to develop them.

Using the skills I learnt in our photography workshop I photographed my sketch models as I went along.

Using scrap metal I created my first simple but what I feel is a very effective free-standing prototype.

Incorporating some thinner copper wire in the design to try and recreate the shapes within the tower.

I used scrap wood bound with metal wire to create a wigwam effect. This design is effective but not very structurally sound. I think this idea is harder to develop further.

Coloured cable

Cable bound with wire and copper wire to almost give a barbed wire effect to add more to my design.
After having lots of varied initial ideas i began to think further about the functionality of my final piece and began to sketch further ideas.

The tower itself being very industrial does not relate to the non-industrial person therefore I wanted to make it softer and more elegant to broaden its appeal and add some colour. I came up with the idea of making a free standing light.
I researched some already existing abstract lights.


   

I found artist Ron Arad who creates functional abstract furniture and sculptures.
In 1994 he established the 'Ron Arad studio', design and production unit in Como, Italy. His London studio has increasingly produced individual pieces made of sheet steel, and he always mischievously exploits their formal and functional possibilities to the fullest. The sculptural forms often have an unexpected impact which first emerges during use, and are just as much a result of graphic design as the experimental work that goes on in the workshop. 

My favourite and an inspiration of my work was his piece called PizzaCobra.

"Calling it a table lamp would be restrictive. PizzaCobra is a project"

The light features an articulated, chrome-plated spiral that can lie in a flat coil on the ground (like a pizza) or be raised to resemble a cobra about to strike.

Another piece to interest me which I found on his website was Inauguration of Vortext, Seoul, South Korea. Ron visited Seoul for the inauguration of Vortext, A 17m high spiral sculpture with 24,000 LEDs embedded into its surface. By day, bright red with subtle light changes on its skin. By night a shimmering mutli-coloured, multi-language public art piece.

As my work developed more people began to mention that they noticed a similarity to Ruth Claxtons work. I researched her work and am inspired by where she has come from and what can be developed from a single piece. Here are some examples of her work.

In my further ideas I decided to flip the tower upside-down and use various base ideas inspired by the shape of the top of the original tower. I recreated these using wood and metal...

Using a band saw and some wood and plastic offcuts I made a sketch model of my further idea. I hand drilled holes into the wooden base which I threaded the metal wire through so that the beginning of the spiral couldn't be seen. I feel this is successful but just doesn't have the elegance I wanted to create.

In a moment of serendipity I created this sketch model using one piece of copper wire which I feel is elegant and effective but needs to be worked on further.

I spot welded some copper arms onto my sketch model and drilled holes into the sides of circles of acrylic that I had cut on the laser cutter.

Furthering my idea of making a light I used various methods of lighting in the studio to photograph my prototype. I love the projection of colour onto the wall that the light gives through the acrylic but am worried that if I turn the whole piece into a light that it will lose its appeal, simplicity and elegance. I might display the piece as a sculpture and project light onto it.

 I want to develop my ideas further with the wire structure incorporating more materials and creating a higher quality finish.

Following our work in progress presentations I have decided to make the sculpture approx 6ft tall. I wanted to use a tube but after a lot of research I have found that metal tubing would be near impossible to make into a coil shape. The only way which enables me to make my sculpture that big is to use a thicker metal rod.

Because the materials weren't readily available in the workshop and my piece was going to be on such a large scale I went to a metal specialist to source the correct materials and discuss my idea to see if they could help or advise me.
I took my sketched and explained in detail what it was that I wanted to create. They advised me to use 5mm steel rod as it is strong enough to create the shape I want and it would be possible to manipulate it by hand. To create the cone shape first we needed to make a solid cone out of sheet metal to wrap the steel rod around to create the accurate shape I wanted. After doing this I created the base using a single piece of rod and 45degree angle bender. This was then welded to the cone spiral in one single place to hold it in shape.

Using the 5mm steel meant that my piece would be top heavy and have to be supported to stand.

 

After some manipulation of my sculpture I came to the conclusion that there was a little too much material which seemed to over complicate the design. I initially wanted to include 6 acrylic disks in relation to the 6 hyperboloids of the Shukhov Tower but this seemed like it would make the design less simple and sophisticated. After going back to my prototypes I wanted my final piece to be more like these. I stretched my sculpture so that the coils weren't so tight and it resembled my prototype more. I also decided that I only wanted to use 3 acrylic disks like my prototype has because I feel this will be more sophisticated and aesthetically pleasing.

 

 

 I had to work out which option to use to attach the disks concluding that the second was the best as I was using 3mm acrylic which cracked when I drilled into it horizontally.

I am going to use 2 arms so that the attachments are more stable.

 

I used the laser cutter to cut out my acrylic disks

 Polished with steel wool and Brasso

need to re-weld the top back on!

Because my sculpture was so manipulated unfortunately the top weld kept coming apart which presented us with a problem we had to overcome and keep re-welding.

 

 

I hand drilled 3mm diameter holes so that the arms would slot into the acrylic perfectly.

spot welding before filing and polishing

Final Piece

My final piece is hung from the ceiling in an aesthetically pleasing way but stands on the floor.
I am really happy with how my final piece has turned out. I am disappointed because I really wanted to take some studio shots of how I would like my piece to be exhibited but it is so fragile because of the weld coming apart that I didn't want to risk breaking it.
As an exhibition I would have my piece in a black room with 2 floor spot lights from 2 angles. This would give the same effect as my prototype pictures on a larger scale and the colours and shapes would be projected on the wall. It is a very versatile piece and if I had a number of them I would display them in different rooms with different lighting giving various effects.
Evaluation - All I would consider would be using sleeves where welds are to enhance the strength although I didn't discover until the last minute that they would break.

 

 

In conclusion I have succeeded in creating sophistication and elegance that I wanted to. I loved making this piece and learnt and refined a lot of skills including - drilling, sawing, welding, spot welding, laser cutting, self analysis and constructive criticism of my own work. I did also learn that external help can be expensive and to definitely do my homework!