Element

Two weeks ago, I went to Shinjuku to see an exhibition featuring Cecil Balmond who is a famous structural engineer.



This exhibition was really good."H_edge" was the best work in this exhibition. He used only two kinds of material :7000 H shaped aluminum plates and 2500m of stainless steel chain. And the structure of the exhibition was surprisingly simple. In many buildings columns, beams, floors and ceilings have different functions and materials. But "H_edge" followed only one structural rule and all the parts used the same two materials. The most surprising point of the exhibition was that : The material used was a cool hard metal, but I felt some kinds of warmth and softness from that.

After the visit, I sat down and thought about the reason why I felt warmth from cool metals and I thought that the beauty of nature was the key point. I think, when people see nature it keeps a consistency and balance to our existence, so people feel the scenery beautiful. I imagine in ancient times people had to be sensitive about the change of seasons and catch a imperceptible signals from nature. By using these signals, people could find the best place to get food. If they misunderstood that information, they wouldn't be able to survive. I guess trough long survival, our eyes have developed a great function to unconsciously find a imperceptible signal that is implied by nature's consistency and balance. Conversely, when we feel something beauty, some kind of consistent nature exists in that.

Looking back at the "H_edge" , the warmth and softness I felt was a bit similar to walking around in the woods and ,I think, the two feature points about "H_edge" (simple materials and a simple structure) is common to wood. The wood makes space, but there are no clear difference between vertical members and horizontal members, it made by only one rule -the growth of the trees.

I understand myself that my writing isn't enough to explain what I felt in the exhibition. I'm still looking for the words to express my feelings. By Mr.Balmond's explanation in the exhibition brochure proved my feelings are similar to his ideas.

"ELEMENT is an expression of the natural world and also of the artificial domain we create with our mind. Nature surrounds us and is considered separate but that great external enters through our eyes as we interrogate the forms, and build interior constructions. Perceptions of force and contours translate into patterns, which abstract further into organisational models and meaning. We see chance and predictability, we make philosophies and rationales - and what cannot be understood is marked by mystery and beauty."