A Look Back Before a Look Forward (Week 1)

So I really suck at blog posting. But I have a lot from past weeks that I want to throw up here so here it goes! After the Wednesday meeting with my group in week one, we agreed to each make models of what we THOUGHT Ted was talking about with his drawing. So I went home, and the more I thought about the idea, the less I understood how it was going to function inflation. So I actually took another perspective to see if there would be a way to move the air through the space instead of only having a passive role. This resulted in me thinking of fans > paddle fan blades > the repetitive form of paddle fan blades > the way the blades can be stacked > a way to make blades unfurl and then continue spinning > a collapsable form that could inflate to force the blades to unfurl and then continue spinning. From there I started thinking material wise, and how if wind is supposed to unfurl this fan, then the material has to be lightweight but durable. I ended up looking up Windsurfing sails, which incidentally have a similar form to paddle fan blades. I also started looking into bellows and found a tutorial on how to make camera bellows. Here are some of the links I used, the photos I found, and then the models I made.

I've gotta say that this work was really enlightening for me, and far more enjoyable than I could have imagined. I got really invested in my models, and spent two whole days hand cutting out each of the parts, glueing things together, and seeing how pristine of forms I could make with only chipboard, duct tape, cardboard, paper, and glue. I am now convinced that you could make absolutely anything from those materials, and I will probably try in the future.

Anyways, here are some of the links I looked at and some images that inspired form. Nothing elaborate, just interesting. Also, after that, are the notes we wrote on the white board during our first meeting, then some photos of our group as we worked, and more white board work that got us to our final product.

http://www.memagazine.org/backissues/membersonly/aug01/features/helios/helios.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=wind-turbine-fan-blades

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsurfing

http://www.pella.com/windows/learn-about-options-and-features/between-the-glass-features.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventilation_(architecture)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellows

http://www.rolandandcaroline.co.uk/homemade4x5/bellows1.html