Temporary structure uses paper to create light-regulating filter

Infrared is a group of architectural researchers and fabricators based in Thessaloniki, Greece. Initiated in 2010, the group’s work has included public installations like the Thess Bic Seat, an amorphously shaped bicycle rack and bench. Another piece called 313 / 315 is a 25-foot-long seesaw installed between two rooms of a derelict hotel created for last year’s XV Biennale De La Mediterranee. For its most recent installation, titled Madren 5340, the team investigated the theme of private space with a digitally modeled screen made with a series of paper tubes.

• Fabricator Infrared
• Designer Infrared
• Location Thessaloniki, Greece
• Status Complete
• Materials Paper
• Process Algorithmic surface generation

Madren 5340 began with the concept of regulating light and visibility in an intimate space like a bedroom. A patterned surface would act as a filter, creating a perforated facade between two parts of the room. Infrared began by generating the surface algorithmically, interpolating between sine curves of varying wavelengths and amplitudes. These calculations created a double-curved, self-supporting structure that would rest on the ground. The 11 ½-foot-tall wall was then rationalized into a series of simple paper tubes that would be assembled to create the structure. In its project brief, the team described the combined effect of 3-D volumes and round pixels:

In effect, each paper-tube is becoming something between a voxel and a pixel: it is positioned in space trying to represent a thin volume that reads as a surface—the properties of the volex—while at the same time displays a certain intensity of light—the properties of the pixel. The aggregation of the tubes is approximating the curvature of the initial surface.

The digitally generated information was exported into assembly sheets—essentially a map of where and how to place each tube. The piece was installed in January as part of Thessaloniki’s Platforma 1 temporary exhibition, organized by ArqLab and Art|House gallery.