Pixel
A pavilion for silence
Gabrielle Clune + Jeffrey Richmond
Advanced Prototyping Instructors:: Sir David Adjaye + Catie Newell
Pixel focuses on material investigations, methods of construction and design through rapid prototyping. Bonneville Salt Flats is a place so white and flat that one begins to see the curve of Earth’s surface. A Black Hole is a place in space where gravity is so intense that even light cannot escape. These contrasting entities became an inspiration for the investigations into a pavilion for silence. The pavilion implements material investigations, fabrication, and computation to produce a facade-system prototype. This pavilion dedicated to silence was thoughtful of one’s approach to the pavilion and divergence between near and far through tangible pixelation of the pavilion. Manipulation and perception of light became important to the overall design. The pavilion explores a single material, digital fabrication, and generative computation in the making of a prototype that addresses “silence” as a visual medium.
A grasshopper script was created to generate not only a randomized, pixelated surface through mapping, but also to generate a ribbed system that allows for easy assembly of the pavilion. The slits between frames interacting with the pixelated ribs give the illusion of a floating structural system. Bonneville Salt Flats is a place so white and reflective that one must wear sunglasses to avoid permanent eye damage. As the investigation continues, exploration into near and far and also manipulation of light is important to the overall Pavilion design. The slits between frames interacting with the pixelated ribs give the illusion of a floating structural system. This is echoed by the mirrored floor of the salt flat after a heavy rain.
Light Adaptation
The reflex adaptation of the eye to bright light, consists of an increase in the number of functioning cones, accompanied by the decrease in the number of functioning rods.
Dark Adaptation
The adjustment of the eye to low light intensities involves reflex dilatation of the pupil and activation of the rod cells in preference to the cone cells.
From the road, the pavilion looks like a black pixel encompassed by the vast white flat. Approach, near and far, and the manipulation of light influenced the conception of the space. Once inside, the experience is centered around the perception of light where the human eye must adapt to the visual threshold between brightness and darkness. The pavilion explores a single material, digital fabrication, and generative computation in the making of a prototype that addresses“silence” as a visual medium.
