This piece is what got me hooked on kinetic sculpture. It all started with a simple task from a designer in Cambridge Massachusetts (Jeff Lieberman): how can you design a crease pattern that allows a hexagon to fold closed around the motor that actuates it. Building on my passion for origami, I tackled the problem and quickly came up with solutions that I sent back to Jeff. It was this hustle and ability to work quickly on new problems that lead to me working for Jeff the following summer.

My other role on this project was to make every piece slightly less white. The material that proved to be the most durable for this application was Tyvek which comes in one color: blindingly white. In order to match the interior of the building, every element needed to be slightly more beige. Instead of hand dying each one, I designed and operated a dying machine that spooled an entire role of Tyvek (about two miles of material) through a trough of dye and onto a new role.

You can see more pictures and read more about the control of this piece on Hypersonic’s site.