Figure 1: Original Design CAD Drawing

For my final project I am creating a dynamic wind sculpture. The idea is to string a number of reflective, mirror like, mylar disks in columns between a wooden frame. A CAD drawing is shown above. Originally I was going to built the frame as a square with 16 columns and 20 rows of mylar disks. After receiving feedback from my team and Professor Hertzberg I altered my plans to go with a rectangular frame. The new frame would have 30 columns and 10 rows. The rectangular design was supposed to show dynamic motions happening over a larger area.

Figure 2: Design Inspiration

My primary inspiration for this piece is the dynamic wind sculpture outside of the ITLL building at CU Boulder. The sculpture is mesmerizing to look at during a windy day and perfectly embodies a dynamic wind sculpture as you can easily tell how the air is moving over the surface of the sculpture. This sculpture uses smaller disks than my piece and utilizes a different attachment method for each disk to the frame. Similar to this sculpture I was trying to achieve a minimalist aesthetic for my piece so as to not take away from the primary focus area, the motions of the air.

Figure 3: Progress Picture #1

I started constructing my dynamic wind sculpture by cutting four 2″ by 4″ pieces of wood to the necessary dimensions. The image above shows the pieces of wood halfway through the cutting process when I stopped to do a fit check to make sure that the frame would indeed hold 10 rows of disks.

Figure 4: Progress Picture #2

After cutting the wood I attached them using some 1.5″ wood screws. Even after the addition of brackets at the corners, pictured above, I found the frame to be unstable. To get around this issue I used some of the scrap wood to create additional brackets shown at the corners of the frame. This had the added benefit of allowing the piece to stand upright without falling over. After creating the frame and applying a stain I screwed in eye screws along the long end of the frame.

Figure 5: Progress Picture #3

Finally, with the frame built I added the 300 mylar disks and tediously removed the protective film to reveal their mirror like surface. Unfortunately due to my lack of adequate tools and skill the frame was slightly too short meaning that there is too much slack in the columns allowing them to sag. When in the correct orientation I believe this takes away from the intended effect. I have ordered small springs to try to mitigate this issue.