Glass forest

tl;dr

In this studio, glass was investigated as a manipulator of light, its ability to create atmospheres based on its form, color and texture. Plaster molds were designed parametrically at varying sizes and then coated in heat-proofing graphite. Along with the expertise of Corning Glass Museum’s artists, I assisted the production of the artifacts live, clamping the molds and providing technical support. The resulting glass objects were later investigated through photography.

Q. how might we create meaning through fabricating?

Using collage and digital modelling techniques, these pieces were then imagined as architectural interventions in abandoned grain elevators in Buffalo, NY. Glass blowing was an extremely demanding and fast paced process, exposing students to the stresses of hands-on fabrication.

  • Professor Naomi Frangos, weighted transparency, 2020, Cornell University

  • Corning Glass Museum, the Studio

Creating artifacts

plaster molds

1

CNC tooling

2

glass working

3

glass artifacts

4

texture

5

caustics

6

Analysis

Photographing the glass revealed complex and ethereal caustic phenomena, mimicking those found in nature. Caustics are concentrations of projections of light rays due to refraction from a curved surface.

glass artifact caustic phenomena →

caustic phenomena in the natural world →

Site

Silo City in Buffalo are remnants of the city’s great industrial history, filled with abandoned grain elevators. The challenge was to tease out a narrative that connects the phenomena from the glass artifacts to the histories and experiences of the site. Looking closely at the Perot grain elevator revealed some eerie similarities between the abandoned structures, and the way a church might be designed, through the proportions of the human body. This motivated interventions with re-imagined glass structures that played on scale and proportion in relation to the body

geometries and relationship to the human body →

grain silo hoppers, containers and delivery mechanisms →

perot grain elevator reflected ceiling plan and axonometric →

Re-imagining

“A tapestry of sliced vessels composes a façade wall of patterned window portals scaled to the human body, distorting contextual views and allowing the visitor to contemplate past histories.”

“Immense vessel skylights become an inverted treescape dripping in greenish dew. Caustics create an otherworldly diaphanous light in a darkened chamber, a sanctuary for reflection.”