Modular systems are a frequent point of departure in my creative work. Two systems of enduring interest to me are kits of parts derived from the Marching Cubes algorithm, and the various urban components that come together to create our cities. A Village of Irvine, a site-specific experiment installed as part of Suburban Ecologies, merges these interests directly for the first time. The white concrete base is a terraformed landscape, created from the leftover parts of Automatic Revisited, an early project of mine that proposed a contemporary reinterpretation of a historic Frank Lloyd Wright building system. The colorful plastic shards on top are the houses, arranged along and around a cul-de-sac, created from my most recent Marching Cubes prototypes, not yet formally released. The overall assembly responds to its placement within the room, just as a new development might respond to previous tracts and any underlying topography. The composition that results is at once a literal scale model and an abstract representation of my colliding ideas and inspirations.
Floor assembly from modular components. CNC-milled concrete, steel hardware / 3D-printed PLA plastic, neodymium magnets, 24”H x 78”W x 60”D. Components 2009/2020, assembly 2020.
