Category: Architecture

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HASH SIGNS RHOMBOHEDRON – I: CNC Cut-out Print on Acrylic

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HASH SIGNS RHOMBOHEDRON – I, 2022
(orthographic projection view from a 3d model)
uv cured inkjet on cnc cut acrylic/composite alum, mtd. 2″ off wall
dimensions variable (38″h x60″w overall), edition of 3

My 3d explorations of the Hash symbol began with the realization that if you inscribed a hash symbol, you would get a Rhombus, that is both pairs of opposite sides are parallel and the same length. So when Megan Alves, Artists Archives Marketing and Program Manager asked me if I wanted to do a 3d printed tactile touchable artwork for the exhibition W/O Limits, I was honored and I immediately knew it would be the hash symbol I would make. So, I went back to its shape, a rhombus and realized that when putting together 6 of these in cubic form it makes a Rhombohedron. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhombohedron The rhombohedron would become the building block of the sculpture. My Hash Symbol Monument would follow.

So that brings me to this artwork. Utilizing two 3d programs, Moment of Inspiration (MOI) for the 3d modeling, and Blender for visualization and rendering, I have found these to open up new avenues of expression in 2d. I can take a 3d model and have unlimited viewpoints and lighting to play with. This piece is an orthographic projection where lines are parallelly projected as opposed to a perspective view with vanishing points.

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Types of Cuboids from Wikipedia page on Cuboids
Rhombohedron shown on right
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Buildings on the Edge

Bruce found a sketchbook. I remember one night after a day at work where I had been working on designing a house that floats above a steep hillside with the support of 4 large columns, I thought about structures and I did these quick sketches. It’s interesting to rediscover things we did a long time ago.

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Pratt Islamic Studies – Masjid I Jami Mosque – Isfahan

Section through Dome & Geometric Analysis of
the Masjid I Jami Mosque

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The most significant work Of Islamic Architecture that survives is the Masjid-i-Jami in Isfahan Iran. This mosque was initially built by the early Muslims who arrived in the first century after the Hijra. The Abbasids rebuilt it in 840-41 CE . The Buyids, who established the first local dynasty, enlarged it between 908-32 CE.

Above is my drawing of a cross section through the dome with three geometric sketches illustrating the proportion of parts and below are sketches studying the geometric proportional systems that delineate the proportion of it’s parts. Also, using the proportions of the different parts to each other, I prove mathematically that the golden ratio was the organizing principle.

Sketches – Understanding the Underlying Geometric Proportional Systems
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The Masjid I Jami Isfahan

Related to my Islamic studies were explorations of my own geometric ideas influenced by what I was learning about in the Islamic creative tradition. The following are studies of patterns I created using and rotating the square. They were done on a Hewlett Packard main frame computer using an early CAD software program.