waving walls / professional / orproject / 2019
computational design, fabrication, assembly logic
waving walls is a permanent installation for the flagship store of fashion designer Amit Aggarwal. Based on the programmatic requirements within the store, the flowing spatial divisions are positioned to separate different areas across the space. These walls are designed as architectural-scale waving fabrics out of reflective sheet material that is hung from the ceiling.
with Rajat Sodhi, Christoph Klemmt, Komal Sodhi, Balaji Mohan Rajkumar
All photographs : Suryan/Dang and Orproject
The fashion designer’s studio is known for its use of novel materials and the textures, transparencies and reflections that it creates through custom fabrics and sculpted dresses. The wall partitions were designed to complement this approach by creating similar textures, transparencies and reflective spaces at an architectural scale.
The project focused research into bent material, using a network of transparent sheets in tension which were suspended from the ceiling. The reflective sheets were then compressed into the desired shape, which could then connect to adjacent sheets in a grid.
Deriving from the floor lines embedded in the architecture of the space, the walls form backdrops for different sections of the boutique and guide the visitors in the space.
Spread over 300 sqm, the space comprises of 6 waving walls of 2.2 meters in height and up to 10 meters long. Each of the walls were designed to be fabricated manually, which meant that at one point in the construction sequence, any part length could not exceed 600 millimeter, which was based on the arm reachability to screw two sheets together. Further, the screw locations were optimized and sequenced to avoid visible seams and ensure the bending behavior.
Based on this simple logic, the walls were segmented into 660 laser-cut reflective sheets which were held together by over 10,000 screws, which were customized in stainless steel. The design and installation of the entire boutique was completed in a period of 90 days.
