The final part of the interview ends with Michael rejecting technology in favor of dirtying his hands, and ends with his latest projects, including a 3D puzzle, how convenient.
Q3. What technologies do you intend to use in the future?
for the moment, i’m taking a short break from technology. i want to spend some time getting hands on with materials for a while so that when i employ technological processes again it will be in a way that is messier and where the technology is perhaps not even noticeable. for me, i prefer it when the technology is not so prominent in the work, otherwise it becomes about the technology alone. i am also exploring aspects of decay and entropy in my work at the moment and have yet to find a tech process that fits this direction. more than likely it will be a combination of processes which allow for aspects of growth followed by acts of erosion and breakdown.
Q4. Are there any artists, designers or scientists using emerging technology that you find inspirational or sickening cause they did it first??
hmm, mostly i find architecture inspiring. zaha hadid’s designs often do it for me (the abu dhabi plan for example).
greg lynn’s blob wall got me because he did it first, and roxy paine’s automated sculpture and painting machines from a few years back still get me.
Q5. What are you currently working on?
A small scale sculpture for a multiple work. still in the idea stage but i am thinking of a sculpture that acts a bit like a 3d puzzle, with 10-15 interlocking geometric parts. it will probably end up being made from moulded resin and concrete parts. as this stage it is more a sense of the thing i have, the scale of it, it’s materiality, how one should interact with it etc. the final form will take a bit of experimentation.
i’m also working on a collaborative proposal with an architect (wulf walter boettger) for a series of installation works form wallpaper patterns using plotted vinyl, to architectonic sculptural elements using perspex and expanding foam.
So there we have the final installment of Michael Kutschbach’s interview. Perhaps we will see some of his latest work as part of the Ponoko Games & Puzzles, 10 day challenge?
So Level Vodka asked designer Hussein Chalayan to create a promotional art instillation to express the experience of Level Vodka. This in itself isn’t really all that interesting to me. What did catch my eye was the fact that they used 3D printing to create a prototype of the tunnel in order to get a feel for the full structure and help determine the colors of the project. The model was built through a process called selective laser sintering, or SLS, wherein a high-powered laser selectively melts a polymer layer by layer until the full model is formed. The question is, did the 3D model help to inform the design of the final piece? Apparently so, as both the model and the final piece are colored…white. (more…)
It was indeed a magical night where everyone got together to share and show off their hard work and beautiful products. Last Thursday we had a gathering of 19 users with their families and friends at the Paramount in Wellington. From the talented 19 users, we exhibited 27 amazing products, designed by them and made real by Ponoko.
The range of products included a bike light, lampshades, jewelry, tables, room dividers, a chess set, CD rack, artwork, and an architectural model of well-known Wellington neighbourhood Brooklyn. Every single piece had a great story behind it - how the concept and design came to be, and the learning curves and various alterations that happened along the way. Many had gone through a couple iterations to get it just right. One user, who created a lampshade had absolutely no experience with a vector package. But by her second iteration she had made something absolutely wonderful. I asked Dave if any one piece really stood out, but the truth is - every single piece was unique and personal, standing out in its own right.
Kudos to all the users! You must feel very proud of your creations!
Ikea has proven that people love prefab flatpack furniture - for the convenience, ease of shipping and assembly, design, simplicity and price. Now you can have that same flatpack experience - but with a house. Architect and designer Gregg Fleishman from southern California has designed a flatpack Disaster House and Shelter System made of router-cut European sustainable birch plywood pieces that fit together like a 3D puzzle, requiring no nails, screws or glue. Although it needs some sort of rain cover, it’s still a very cool concept and design. It’s available through Swarm Studios for US$22,000 + tax including assembly.
This 14′ square house could provide the shelter needed for different occasions - for either emergency or fun reasons. Check out his “Playgoda”, a fun and cool option for keeping the kids busy in the backyard. No need to work with countless nails and screws to put the swingset/jungle gym together.
Look at these beautiful carved doors from Flickr. I’ve always admired the incredible detail and beauty that goes into work like this. Anyone can appreciate it, but it’s not the kind of detail you usually find in the average person’s home. There’s a reason for that. The artisans who create these kinds of work in many cases no longer exist. As well as the naturally prohibitive nature of carving - it takes so much time.
There is one other point that I think is important about carving for a home. It’s very personal. So personal in fact that most people wouldn’t consider doing something like this for their home unless it celebrated something about them, their family or their beliefs. To hire an artisan to undertake something like that for a family home, while I am sure would strike many as a wonderful dream (as it obviously did in the past), would seem extravagant now.
However, modern technology is getting us much closer to a point when you can have your custom carvings in any home. Below I have inserted a demonstration video of the Craftsman CompuCarve from Sears, which is also known as the CarveWright System. It’s a home based CNC machine retailing for less than $2000 which allows you to personally do the kind of carving you would have only dreamed of in the past. It comes with a software package that allows you to do your own design and while it’s had some tough reviews there are a fair amount of very positive reviews as well. It certainly opens up a new world to the home DIY artist as you can see from the extensive results they have on their own site. Of which the image below is one example.
I’m not talking about “Smart Homes”, computerized home environments where lights, temperature and appliances can be controlled through remote. This is about building a house: from initial design through to production and construction. It’s a new process that focuses on the speed, high quality and efficiency of digital technology, coupled with low production methods and low-cost construction.
The Architecture Foundation in London completed an exhibit last week on the research and work of UK architectural firm Bell Travers Willson which included a cross-section of a digital house in the making, introducing the public to effective and efficient house design and construction.
The Digital House utilizes the advantages of hi-tech production, such as speed (five times faster than ordinary build programmes) and quality, and the advantages of on site activities such as a flexible labour force with low overheads.
So how is this possible? The Digital House is produced using a detailed 3D computer model that contains all of the construction elements including every wall and screw hole which are pre-determined before the construction. This information is transferred to a CNC Router (Computer Numerical Control) which rapidly cuts out elements in engineered timber. These are assembled into lightweight hollow cassettes like big bricks of Lego, which can be filled with recycled newspaper to achieve a high level of insulation and air tightness.
Unlike pre-fab construction, this technology allows for customized design, steering clear of “cookie-cutter” tract homes that are now proliferating our suburbs - where all the houses look the same, save for colour or landscaping. The key here is sustainable alternatives to traditional custom home-building, where the advantages of technology are used to minimize production, labour, and distribution costs without sacrificing design or individuality. Sounds great to me!
