Organic Dreams Synthetic Means
Organic Dreams Synthetic Means grew out of extensive investigation into the material properties of fiberglass rods and their use as a sculptural material.
The artist asked what forms could be made with bundled and adhered fiberglass rods that couldn’t be accomplished with other structural materials. Though clearly synthetic—a man-made composite product of design and fabrication—the structure and its materiality have affinities to biological systems and processes. Through physical testing of its components and subassemblies, NOUS determined the material properties and structural performance of the final artwork. Organic Dreams Synthetic Means, cantilevered twenty feet from a wall in the Advanced Research and Teaching Building in Iowa State University, is left open to interpretation by the viewer regardless of their field of inquiry.
Location
Ames, IA, USA
Client
Iowa State University
Artist
Ball-Nogues Studio
Staff Lead
Omar Garza, SE
Completed
2018
Recognition
SEAOSC Excellence in Structural Engineering Merit Award