Tensile Mylar Curtain
Pursuing responsive media in the physical world, exploring the intersection between media technology and architecture.
Yes, I’ve returned to a material that I had previously explored: reflective mylar. The challenges posed by the fiber-optic scheme (in terms of its hardware and its scale) currently requires some thinking, so while I do that, I’ve started this experiment.
A few days ago I came across this Ball-Nogues project, which reminded me of several issues related to skins that I have examined in some previous work. Issues of porosity, geometry, and ambiguity of surface. As a test, I have essentially adopted the form of their design (which I intend to develop and modify if I continue this exploration), but I am using reflective mylar, with the intention of integrating lighting and some form of live input (either sensing or live data) to animate the lighting.
System of mylar modules, tautly held at 4 sides.
In the dark, with LED lights on the opposite side of diagonal members, reflecting (some) light on to the central flap.
View from other side, showing LED lights along diagonal members.
Grommet connection, which allows wiring and lights to be weaved into the wall.
The while LEDs here are too sharp and harsh. I would like a softer glow, and am considering either i) introducing a second grid of white diffusing material (like fabric) or ii) using a softer light source likeELwire.