www.responsivedesign.de
WATER LILY
responsive design studio
Float with the Flowers The project ‘Float with the Flowers’ designed by Manuel Kretzer and Christine Baumgartner was first realized in Strafford, New Hampshire in summer 2009 by participants of the Beam Camp, a five week summer program for boys and girls (www.beamcamp.com).
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Derived from nature, the design of the floating flowers combines the elements water and earth. Inspired by the ´Rose of Jericho´ the concept suggests a kinetic sculpture that blossoms once its petals touch the surface of water; the leaves close again when the water lily is pushed back ashore.
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By its ability of changing shape the lily forms an interactive toy and can be used in different locations and surroundings. The simple connecting mechanism in the centre, the lattice truss and the choice of wood for the structure make the handling easy and give maximum flexibility to the flower.
1,99 m
1,18 m 2,22 m
33 cm
3,91 m
89 cm
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A total of 165 dowels connect 68 wooden balls in 17 variations to generate the hyperbolic form. To ensure the desired precision while building, special marking and drilling jigs were designed.
18 cm
1,78 m
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The water lily can be built with simple hand tools. The construction process cultivates hands-on-skills while exploring innovative and creative thinking. During the construction the young campers at “Beam Camp� explored how simple elements combine to form complex systems; how even a toy is a product of intense design, precision engineering and fabrication; how balls, sticks and tubes, wood and plastic can join to represent and reflect natural contours and forces.
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The system of the petals is reduced to structurally needed connections and originates from the necessity of an extremely lightweight construction. Outfitted with inflated plastic tubes, each petal is calculated to carry at least 100kg when floating on water.
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Manuel Kretzer is an architect and designer from Germany. He studied architecture at the Universities of Dresden, South Australia and Karlsruhe, where he graduated in 2008 with an interactive pavilion for the Burning Man Festival. He worked as Research and Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Karlsruhe and later he was employed with Philip Beesley Architect Inc. in Toronto, Canada. Since March 2010 he works at the Chair of CAAD at the ETH in Zürich. His focus lies on temporary, interactive art and architecture he has realized a number of large scale sculptures and installations.
Christine Baumgartner studied architecture and urban
design at the University of Karlsruhe (TU). She graduated with distinction at the Chair of Urban Planning and Design in 2008. During and after her studies she worked on architecture and landscape projects for offices in Durban, Basel and Toronto.
Publications and Press Reviews:
www.cityofskies.com (09.2009) ‘Beam Camp: Float With The Flowers’ www.good.is (09.2009) ‘2009 Beam Project: Float With The Flowers’ Links Books, Barcelona (06.2010) Design for Kids
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responsive design studio www.responsivedesign.de
info@responsivedesign.de
Manuel Kretzer, 2009