soft boil

earlier this year, forK was asked to submit a proposal for a monumental structure at the annual bonnaroo music & arts festival.  the request was for an object to become a permanent addition to the festival skyline, 70 feet tall, serving double-time as both wayfinding device and light tower.  being very happy to help define a tower, we turned around in a couple of days a handful of sketches, a material list, a budget, and a fabrication and erection plan for what we dubbed the soft boil.  the job didn't materialize, but nevertheless gave us a chance to explore our notions on a new scale.

the sculpture is an oval in plan, 18 feet x 12 feet, and the overall composition is an ellipsoid sliced on a steep axis, from the 70 foot mark to the 20 foot mark.  inside of this slice is suspended an ovular surface; this tarpaulin skin would consist of 800 square feet of triangular golden leaves, laser cut from yellow mylar plastic and riveted together on site.  during the day the skin would create a place of shade for festival-goers to relax under and at night the canopy would be lit from behind by LED spot lights, transforming it into a beacon.

the intent was to create a tower that could be quickly fabricated and erected, limiting the amount of time on-site.  the construction of soft boil is exterior grade plywood, finished with a marine grade coating.  all of the ribs and struts for the skeletal frame would be milled in nashville and shipped to the site, where a group of workers could splice the framing together with bolts and hand tools.  the structure is divided into four modules, each of which would be craned into place and connected to it's neighboring components.

a primary driver of the design was that soft boil develop it's own character and identity over the years of the festival.  the piece itself is significant in scale, however the framework provides opportunity for addition and reinterpretation year by year.  skins can be applied or woven into the structure, the mylar surface can be changed for a different texture, color or geometry,  and the entire piece can be festooned with prayer flags or other worldly banners.

refurbished & repurposed

in the design phase for the shelton group’s new office space, architect elizabeth eason contracted forK design to refinish and repurpose two factory work tables as a conference table.  maintaining the shelton group's committment to sustainability, one of elizabeth eason architecture's central design ideas included to use of reclaimed materials as much as possible.  this conference table is a prime example of that notion, and, as is common when giving objects second or third lives, there is a story in this piece.  

this table is built of two workstation units from the palm beach knitting mill in knoxville.  when the mill closed, one seamstress kept two of the table sets.  one day, while cleaning out the attic, the seamstress's daughter found these two, very large, maple tops with steel legs and had no immediate use for 5 foot x 9 foot tops and six pairs of legs.  the daughter donated these pieces to the knox heritage salvage room where they were put on sale.  local architect elizabeth eason, on a periodic visit to peruse the salvage room's offerings, bought the two sets for re-use at the shelton group's new office space, and contracted forK design to perform alterations and refinish the pieces.

desiring a bar height for the conference table, we welded 6" steel extensions to the legs, grinding smooth for a seamless piece of steel and applied a fresh coat of paint.  the maple tops were stripped of the polyeurathane to expose a patina of needle marks, knife scratches, and water damage.  the surface was then finished with a danish oil and beeswax combination to allow the maple to breathe and for the wood's warmth to be felt.  in our work we avoid poly-anything as often as possible, as coating wood with plastic defeats the fundamental appeal of wood, while mitigating exposure to toxins.

cherry red wall panels

back at wild chorus recording studio, the kitchenette & lounge area had a glaring deficiency, disqualifying it as a comfortable space: the concrete block walls of the space were exposed.  of itself, this does not normally warrant a crisis for us.  however, the walls had been painted several times within the last eon or two; they were hard; they were loud.  they didn't suit our purpose, and that will not do.   

our design solution required covering the block with cherry red panels, articulated on a background of black.  in a dual effort to expedite fabrication and conceal the fastening system, we borrowed a type of mounting clip from the world of yacht building.  the male ends of the clips are embedded in the backside of the red panels and the female receivers to a ground field.  the ground field is painted black and fastened to the block wall.  

 

after accurate measurements were obtained, the entire wall system was modeled virtually and CNC milled from FSC-certified MDF with no added urea-formaldehyde.  the mounting system was milled directly into the material and the panels were pre-finished, black and red respectively.  that was the hard work; on-site installation was limited to attaching the ground battens to the block walls with masonry fasteners and snapping the wall panels on.

pecha kucha knoxville, version 6

last week i had the pleasure of discussing the ideas of my work at a local event, pecha kucha.  pecha kucha is a non-profit promoting creative show & tell-ish gatherings, round about four-times a year.  10 persons each present 20 slides, having 20 seconds to speak on each slide.  fast, fun, local and located generally at a bar or event venue, what's not to like?  i figured why limit it to a moment in time?  here it is (links to you tube):

curated home & louis comfort tiffany | home studio v.8

in continuing our partnership with the HGTV home studio on their exhibit series, version 8 is assembled in the 2nd floor lobby for the employee's to experience.  the educational topics this round are 'the curated home' and a history lesson on the artist Louis Comfort Tiffany.  both areas encompass ideas we at forK design can get behind: craftsmanship, color, layering, and found objects aka second hand items.  the old trash & treasure dichotomy.  although there was nothing trashy about the structures created for the program.  the concept and program developed by the HGTV home studio dictated space; and rather large space at that.  enough to feel comfortable with a bounty of second-hand treasures, vibrant furniture, and glass, with a side of structural layering and screening.  meanwhile, the same criteria from previous installations held: light weight, prefabricated, short design, fabrication and install time, as well as the normal door ways, elevators and staircases to negotiate with the exhibit's components during installation.

collaborating with the HGTV home studio, we developed the structural components for the exhibit, creating a digital model to analyze and determine the most efficient modules necessary to execute the job.  using parametric modeling as part of the design and engineering process, we maintained flexible information in regards to material, weight and cost of the exhibit as changes were made.  in this way we engaged in a conversation with the home studio as the design evolved and were simultaneously in touch with our subcontractors and material suppliers. in this way we maximized the design, quality and cost of the project while maintaining a short schedule.

there are several notable components to this exhibit, from our techy point of view.  the two largest ceiling panels, one walnut in color and the other blue, are 16 feet and 12 feet in length, respectively, and free spanning.  they incorporate wiring for the display lights, are individual modules which bolt to the vertical walls of the display with engineered moment connections to enhance structural stability, and each weighs less than 100 pounds.  the multiple horizontal ceiling layers, while allowing the structure a lighter feel, simultaneously increase the stability and strength of the exhibit by weaving and cross-connecting the modules.  the laser-cut plywood design panels were sourced by the HGTV home studio from Lightwave Laser, modified and incorporated into the design by forK design.  while we did not handle the laser cutting, it got us thinking that maybe we do not have enough toys in the studio afterall.

the exhibit is currently on display at the Scripps Networks Interactive headquarters in knoxville and is a visual success.  forK design is appreciative of the continuing collaboration with the HGTV home studio on these projects.  it is a unique opportunity to work on vignette pieces, which allows us to further our design, engineering and pre-fabrication skills on smaller scale, faster paced projects before applying these methods to larger constructs.