The Making of Screenplay: Part 2

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By Jenny Wu / Published by Dwell – April 11, 2012

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Jenny Wu, a partner at Oyler Wu Collaborative, documents the process from design through fabrication of their latest installation, Screenplay, to be featured at the upcoming Dwell on Design 2012. Part 2:Line-work. Line-work has been an obsession of our office for the past ten years. While most often the study of lines is understood as two-dimensional and graphical, our interest in line-work is three-dimensional and spatial. This begs the question: How does a single line become spatial? Well, the simple answer is—it doesn’t. A line only becomes three-dimensional when it becomes part of an aggregation of multiple lines that are not co-planar. (Ok, I know I’m geeking out a bit, so bear with me!)

A close up view of the rubber tubes in Anemone.

Several basic design parameters were set early in the conception of the project that shaped its geometry and form. Our main interest was in further expanding the range of optical and spatial effects in our work. For instance, in our reALIze installation, the project balances a play between a two-dimensional reading of the face (Muhammad Ali) and the three-dimensional field of lines and punching bags. For Screenplay, a similar principle applies, but this time, with a simple geometric field. We are interested in intensifying the viewer experience through this visual play to create an aesthetic wonder that we hope will ultimately encourage physical interaction.

Anemone is a temporary installation in Taipei, Taiwan made of 30,000 rubber tubes to create an undulating surface that invites interaction and public engagement.

reALIze- Oyler Wu Collaborative & Michael Kalish from Oyler Wu Collaborative on Vimeo.

Pendulum Plane is a permanent ceiling installation made of aluminum tubes at WUHO gallery in Hollywood, CA. Photo by Scott Mayoral.

We conceived of Screenplay as a simple wall that is made up of dense line-work. In its orthographic, or "straight on" view, the wall forms a meticulously organized series of patterns easily recognized by the viewer. As the viewer moves around the wall, its three-dimensional qualities reveal a more complex system of deep sectional cavities, twisting surfaces, and material densities at play. The experience is meant to build on the ‘on again/off again’ system of pattern legibility.

Here are a set of initial design drawings that show the project in its "straight on" elevation and plan views. Next week I will reveal the project in three dimensions through renderings and talk further about material selection.

Click here to read past installments of The Making of Screenplay.