Prof. Meredith’s art installation pushes digital modeling
“over the edge”
Michael Meredith, Associate Professor of Architecture, collaborated with Slovenian artist Tobias Putrih to design “Overhang,” which is on view at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, UK through 31 August. The art installation is made up of a seven-metre-high Styrofoam structure, precariously arranged in branching, stacking and cantilevered blocks. It looks as if, with the slightest nudge, the whole thing might just fall over. The seemingly haphazard arrangement is a result of Prof. Meredith’s firm, MOS, and Putrih’s creation of a computer script that builds structures with stacked, overhanging blocks.
It seems incongruous to make such a basic structure as Overhang using advanced scripting, a method associated with the complex geometries of buildings such as Foster and Partners nearby Sage music centre, whose squat globules contrast with the Baltic’s slim verticality. Not so, says Meredith: ‘The idea about “digital architecture” is silly because everyone works digitally, and it’s still a relatively new medium. Although it is ubiquitous, it is still up for grabs. We are interested in how you can lose control with it.’ The installation will be exhibited this fall at the List Visual Arts Center at MIT.
[The Architects’ Journal; April 24, 2009]