Event 1: Provocations: The Architecture and Design of Heatherwick Studio

     Having lived in London and Hong Kong for a number of years, I have in fact already seen some of Heatherwick’s projects including the London Routemaster Bus and the interior design of the Pacific Place Shopping Mall in Hong Kong despite not being aware of the mastermind behind them. Notable for his unique and unusual works, British designed Thomas Heatherwick is renowned for an array of projects ranging from product designs such as the LongChamp handbag to urban architectures and infrastructures all over the world. Combining novel engineering with new materials and ingenious designs, Heatherwick’s work is no doubt multidisciplinary, incorporating art and engineering in one.

               

                                

                                   Zip-up LongChamp Bag                   London Routemaster Bus

     After spending some time at the exhibition, I found two projects to be partbloicularly alluring. Shaped like a spinning top, Spun is a rotationally symmetrical chair where the seat, back and arms are all the same profile. Spun allows the person sitting on the chair to swivel in a circular rocking  motion, rotating in a complete circle but never falling out of balance! Adopting traditional manufacturing technique used for making large timpani drums, Heatherwick’s work pose the question whether a functional chair could be formed using a 360 degree single profile while challenging the conventional forms of furniture designs.

Spun Chair!!!

     Aside from the smaller design products, I found the larger architectural projects to be even more mesmerizing since they are constructed on a much larger scale. In particular, the rolling bridge in London perfectly embodies the correspondence of art and engineering in the architecture world. Commissioned to design a pedestrian bridge, Heatherwick was determined that the creation be aesthetically pleasing whether it is collapsed for a boat to be moored in its inlet or when it is spanned out for foot traffic. Unlike conventional drawbridges that consist of a single rigid element that lifts out of the way, the rolling bridge opens by slowly curling up like a caterpillar, into a octagon sculptures that sit on each sides of the bank of the canal.

                                 

                                       

                                 Rolling bridge curled up                   Rolling bridge extended

     As can be seen, Thomas Heatherwick’s intricate and innovative designs not only engages different disciplines such as art and engineering, it also fills in the gaps between these seemingly opposing fields. By presenting works that defy conventional forms, he demonstrates that it is not always necessary to compromise performance for visual appearance and vice versa. Rather, designs can be functional yet aesthetically pleasing.