Neil Katz: Weaving Public and Private: Interior Wall Studies
Artist(s):
Title:
- Weaving Public and Private: Interior Wall Studies
Exhibition:
Creation Year:
- 2008
Category:
Artist Statement:
This interior wall panel was designed for an SOM client from the Middle East. It is conceived as a 25-meter-long and 15-meter-tall screen that consists of solid, repeating Corian components that hang together structurally and weave public and private spaces. The resulting divider is a thickly layered and textured screen that generates the project-appropriate degree of visual transparency.
The system functions as both surface and structure thanks to the interplay between geometry and material. Corian is an artificial material that is typically used as a slab in architectural settings. Here, the designers worked with Corian fabricators to push the material’s structural capabilities and to explore the potential of digital fabrication. The resulting geometries are consistent with the ways Corian can be produced and manipulated, but open new possibilities for structural applications.
Instead of cutting off public from private spaces, the wall mediates between the two. The solid component pieces are “woven” together like fabric, and link one side to the other physically and visually. The three-dimensional texture and repeating pattern of the surface allow variation when viewed from different vantage points or in motion. This dynamic experience is dramatically reinforced under different lighting conditions.
Other Information:
Design
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Fabrication
Evans & Paul Unlimited Corp
