Strung up: this diaphanous tensile structure goes with the wind.How long is a piece of string? In the case of Windshape, a pair of wind responsive pavilions embedded in the medieval townscape town·scape n. 1. The appearance of a town or city; an urban scene: "The high school . . . once dominated American townscapes the way the cathedral dominated medieval European cities" of Lacoste, the answer is an astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. 50km. Commissioned by a local arts college Arts Colleges were introduced in 1995 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, the performing, visual and/or media arts. as a gathering place for art installations, classes and performances, the leaf-like structures (made from slim plastic tubes) are intricately threaded together with white polypropylene string. By varying the degree of tension in the string, the diaphanous pavilions respond to different wind conditions billowing bil·low n. 1. A large wave or swell of water. 2. A great swell, surge, or undulating mass, as of smoke or sound. v. bil·lowed, bil·low·ing, bil·lows v.intr. 1. , rippling, oscillating os·cil·late intr.v. os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing, os·cil·lates 1. To swing back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm. 2. and changing shape. Lacoste, in western Provence, is periodically buffeted by the legendary mistral, so the local climate is ideal. Conceived by New York-based nARCHITECTS, Windshape was built in four weeks by its designers, assisted by students from the arts college. The complex geometry was broken down into a series of stacked and staggered tripods. These were pre-assembled from plastic tubes (connected with aluminium collar pieces), threaded together, then hoisted into place. Finally, the spaces between the erect tripods were infilled with horizontal lengths of string, anchoring the composition. Bent in place like an archer's bow, the tubes act in compression and the string in tension, creating a strong yet highly elastic construction. The lightness of the tensile structures forms a delightful foil to Lacoste's massive, limestone walls, and, in particular, to the brooding ruins of a castle occupied by the infamous Marquis de Sade Noun 1. Marquis de Sade - French soldier and writer whose descriptions of sexual perversion gave rise to the term `sadism' (1740-1814) Comte Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade, de Sade, Sade , who lived in the town during the late eighteenth century. You sense he might have quite enjoyed seeing all that string put to such imaginative use. The jury certainly did. C.S. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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