My Digitally Fabricated World

By Don Olsen

Issue 3- Starting an RSO

Architecture students as a whole, to me, have an obsession with building or tinkering, some more than others. I tend to put myself in the more category.  Last spring while looking for inspiration for a personal project I came across a number of pavilions built out of recycled materials. I spent the next 2-3 hours clicking from picture to picture taking in as many as I could. So many things that could be created with so little. I found all sorts of things from pavilions to  furniture to sculpture and most of the time all three in one. While I was browsing I came across a number of these that were done by students in architecture, art, and engineering programs across the country. Sometimes they were done as projects for classes, for competitions, and some were done through clubs.  It was then that I knew I had to try and  start a student organization to bring like minded students together to build architectural sculpture. After six months, much work, and seemingly endless amounts of running around next week the student government will be deciding as to whether the group becomes official. The whole experience has been rewarding and exhausting but in the end I feel like it will be very worth it. My title picture this week is of the first piece that a few people collaborated on. We used it to participate in the College of Applied Science and Arts RSO fair earlier this semester. What started as a simple shape grew and twisted in a very fluid sheet, to create a unique surface. After a few meetings the group has decided on our next project based on the work of Ruben Margolin. Margolin is a sculptor that focuses his work in kinetic sculpture. Our group has decided to try our hand at his square wave projects but  with our own twist. Margolin's sculptures utilize artistic, architectural, and engineering principles to create moving sculptures that change the environments they are placed. At this point we have been approved on 3locations for sculptures. We hope to eventually gain campus wide awareness and bring students from all majors together to create experiential sculpture. 

Photo Credits  to:

Ruben Margolin- http://www.reubenmargolin.com/waves/Square/squareWave_text.html

                                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dehXioMIKg0