ARCH 2613 | Ekko

EKKO THILO FRANK

REBECA BALBIN • MARIA TERESA MORENO

CONTENTS: DESCRIPTION

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DESIGN CONCEPT

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STRUCTURAL SYSTEM

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LATERAL & GRAVITY LOADS

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MODEL PROPOSAL

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AGENDA

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PROCESS

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FINAL DOCUMENTATION

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CONCLUSION

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WORKS CITED

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DESCRIPTION PROJECT: EKKO ARTIST: THILO FRANK LOCATION: HJELLERUP, DENMARK Ekko is a permanent public installation designed by German artist, Thilo Frank. The materials used in the construction of the project include wood, stainless steel wire, zinc coated steel, aluminum, concrete, as well as microphones and an amplified computer controlled sound-system that plays back the sounds made by the people who visit the pavilion. In this project, structure is used to transform the user’s experience as they travel through space. The entire rotation is 20 meters in diameter and has a maximum height of 3 meters. A circular concrete walkway is combined with 200 wood frames with incrementally changing dimensions, providing a combination of heavy and light as well as a twisted structure that allows light to travel through in ever-changing strands.

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DESIGN CONCEPT Ekko is one of three art and media pieces that were produced for a collaborative project between the Danish Arts Foundation and the Danish Arts Council called “Our Art.” The project is based on the idea that anyone who is passionate about art can be a part of the process. Ordinary citizens played a decisive role in the choice of the sites, artists and works that were created for the project. Thilo Frank’s installation created for the small town of Hjallerup involves visitors in a direct physical dialogue with the project. Built-in microphones pick up the sounds made by visitors, a sound system remixes them and then plays them back through resonators, allowing the project to become an instrument that plays a constantly changing soundtrack. The combination of the echoes created with the distorted figure of the increasingly angled wooden frames allow the viewer to perceive and understand space in an amplified manner. The framework of the structure creates a pattern of shadows that shift as an individual travels through the twisting corridor. The repetitive bands of the wooden struts can be experienced as either open or closed depending on the origin of the eye’s gaze. Every visitor is able to contribute to the work of art through their mere physical participation.

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STRUCTURAL SYSTEM DIMENSIONS: DIAMETER-20 meters; HEIGHT-3 meters 200 wooden struts were used in the assembly of the structure. Each consecutive strut is angled in order to give the user the impression that the structure is turning in on itself while travelling through the pavilion. This inner structure is enclosed by a fence-like structure of wooden posts that are situated around a central axis. The wooden struts are attached to each other and to the ground with steel plates that are cut at different angles in order to provide support and strength to the overall structure. The frames are then connected and maintained in place through the use of a stainless steel cable that strings each of the frames together. Stoppers along the tension cable, on each side of the frame prevent significant movement in order to avoid the domino effect that would otherwise occur. The walkway consists of two curved, parallel I-beams with a series of perpendicular I-beams as well as wrought iron grid that span the width in order for the walkway to maintain its unique shape. The metal connections that attach the wooden frame to the walkway are welded to the exterior of the I-beams. The entire structure sits on the grass, making it independent of the site on which it sits, which is why our model will stand alone.

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TOP VIEW

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PLAN

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SECTION

ELEVATION A

ELEVATION B

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PANORAMIC SECTION

PERSPECTIVE

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LATERAL & GRAVITY LOADS The Ekko Pavilion accounts for lateral and gravity loads through the use of a series of rigid frames that are strung together with a stainless steel tension cable. A rigid frame consists of two columns and a beam, which are connected to each other by rigid joints. In the case of the Ekko Pavilion the rigid joints consist of 6 bolts (3 on each side), which attach metal “L”-shaped plates to the two wooden struts within which they sit, creating a right angle. As stated by Mark Cruvellier in The Structural Basis of Architecture, “rigid joints are bending-resistant connections that do not allow relative rotation to occur between the members they are connecting, which means that the angle between these members does not change even when the connections as a whole rotate as a result of deformations of the members themselves.”

The rigid metal connections allow the structure to withstand lateral loads that originate from either side of the frame and the tension cable that strings the frames together allows the rigid frame to withstand loads that are perpendicular to the frame. The benefit of using rigid frames in a structure are that they offer both visual as well as functional openness. The openings present in Ekko, which are made possible by the serial repetition of rigid frames, is critical to the project’s design concept.

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STEEL TENSION CABLE STOPPER BOLT STEEL PLATE WOOD

DETAIL SECTION

DETAIL ISONOMETRIC

BENDING MOMENT

SHEAR FORCE

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LATERAL LOAD

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GRAVITY LOAD

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MODEL PROPOSAL ACTUAL DIMENSIONS: DIAMETER-20 m; HEIGHT-3 m MODEL DIMENSIONS: DIAMETER-80 cm; HEIGHT- 12 cm SCALE: 1:400 MATERIALS • Pine wood • Aluminum sheet • Metal strips • Nails • Rockite • Wire ELEMENTS • Wooden struts for interior frames: 200 frames—800 pieces (standard dimension: 0.4 x 4.8 x 10 cm) • Wooden struts for exterior “fence:” 200 pieces • Right angled metal “L” shape connections for wooden frames: 600 pieces—3 for each frame • Angled metal connections that connect to walkway: 400 pieces METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION • Table saw for wooden strips • Bandsaw to cut strips to wooden strut dimensions • Mill aluminum connections • Metal bandsaw for 16 walkway elements • Nails as connections between wooden elements and metal plates • Solder for metal elements of walkway • Rockite pour for walkway APPROXIMATE BUDGET: $650

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AGENDA

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PROCESS MATERIAL TEST

“L” shaped metal plates slip into slits of wooden struts posessing 45º angles in order for two struts to form a right angle. Nails are put through both the wood and the plate to create the connection between elements.

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FINAL DOCUMENTATION

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CONCLUSION

The Ekko Pavilion is a unique structural system that consists of 200 rigid frames that revolve once around an axis to form a semi-enclosed striated space. The concept of the project was to create a pavilion in which mere interaction provides a dialgue between the structure and the visitor. The use of rigid frames allows for a visual openess that is critical to the project’s effect with light.

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WORKS CITED

“Ekko - Thilo Frank.” Ekko - Thilo Frank. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

@amyfrearson. “EKKO Installation by Thilo Frank.” Dezeen EKKO by Thilo Frank Comments. N.p.,

2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Brianhs. “Brianhs.” Brianhs. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

“EKKO.” Forside. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

“EKKO, Thilo Frank /// WIP TIMELAPS.” Vimeo. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Sandaker, Bjørn N, Arne P. Eggen, and Mark Cruvellier. The Structural Basis of Architecture. London:

Routledge, 2011. Print.

“Thilo Frank: Ekko Spatial Installation.” Designboom Architecture Design Magazine Thilo

Frank Ekko Spatial Installation Comments. N.p., 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

“Twisting Ekko | Thilo Frank - Arch2O.com.” Arch2Ocom. N.p., 2014. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

“VORES KUNST.” VORES KUNST. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

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