TOUCHY-FEELY CURRENT WORK URBAN CUSHIONS

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TRIGGER POINTS | PLASTER MOULDINGS
HEATED WALL SURFACE ELEMENTS FOR SELF-MASSAGE
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PUBLIC HEAT | ARCHITECTURAL INSTALLATION
HEATED FACADE INSTALLATION USING POWERBLANKETS
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FOUND SPACE TILES | CERAMIC TILES
WALL SURFACE ELEMENTS DEFINED BY THE BODYsd
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URBAN CUSHIONS | DESIGN RESEARCH
USING BODY-DEFINED FORM IN URBAN FURNITURE DESIGN 3/7

MIX-UP METHODOLOGY

This project was a collaboration between Art/Design and Industry. Alfa Arte, opening access to its production processes and materials, became a research laboratory. A mix-up methodology was developed, wherein materials were taken out of their conventional lines of production, and were applied in unconventional ways. The lost-wax technique, for example, is the primary production process at Alfa Arte. This technique has been used for centuries in the making of bronze scupture.

First, a sculpted form is reproduced in wax through the creation of a mould. A mould allows many wax copies to be produced. the wax reproductions are then encased in layers of ceramic and silica sand through dipping. The ceramic-silica layers form a heat-resistant shell. The shells are placed in a kiln with temperatures high enough to burn-out the wax completely. Molten bronze is then poured into the shells, and when it cools, the shell is chipped off, leaving a bronze reproduction of the form. From this process, the liquid wax was borrowed and mixed-up in its application, used as a material to take and fix the impression of a body in a soft cushion-form.
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