TOPO[i]WALL
Architectural Installation Project
Project Team: Dr. Ayşegül Akçay Kavakoğlu, Omar Karout, Abdulhamid Kahlous
Date: 2021
Location: Design Cluster Centre, IT Valley Technology Development Zone, Gebze, Turkey
Materials: Bristol paper surface panels positioned on cardboard waffle structure and hanged with steel strings to the ceiling.
Tools for design&fabrication: Rhino, Grasshopper, Blender, Pepakura, Laser Cutting
Tools for projection mapping: Rhino, Grasshopper, Processing
Size: 3.789m x 3.235m x 0.5m (avg.)
Topo[i]wall emerges with a low poly surface generated through folded papers. The installation is an initial study for ongoing research at the intersection of low poly form generation, computational aesthetics and interaction. The installation positions in front of an interior wall symbiotically. The form of the wall tries to embrace the viewer by spreading on the wall from ceiling to floor. The shadow and light balance changes during the whole day on the wall; hence, the aesthetic perception of the wall differs accordingly.
The name of the installation refers to both topography and topology in mathematical terms. The topographical effect of the wall mainly works in the vertical direction. It acts like a topography of a tree from the side views spreading from floor to ceiling. The topology of the low poly surfaces changes and shifts, and at the end, an artificial landscape emerges.
The design process involves low poly modelling, digital fabrication, folding and projection mapping techniques. The designers try to experiment with the reconfiguration of form generation by using low-poly surfaces. The main operation for this is the reduction of mesh surfaces. Besides the experimental approach to form generation, the other goal was to achieve a lightweight and economical architectural installation. Therefore, several strength tests were done according to the paper and structure properties.