Project Description
“Lights, Camera, Inflation: The Warming Hive” continues to explore my ongoing research with pneumatic (air-filled) architecture,
but this time with a focused interest in developing an animated short film about The Warming Hive, a pneumatic structure
designed by my seminar students in Fall 2016, and fabricated in early 2017. Since the first installation of this temporary and
mobile pneumatic structure at The Open gallery in Riverwest, Milwaukee on April 1, 2017, the project has traveled to a variety of
locations to be inflated for various events, including: The Green Gallery, Milwaukee; UWM-SARUP; ACRE Artist Residency,
Steuben, WI; and Makeshift Festival, Madison, WI. In addition to gaining visibility through inflating and deflating The Warming
Hive—its next inflation is scheduled for February, 2018 at The Open gallery to test the structure in the snow—I have been given
a few opportunities to present and publish the project. Most recently, I wrote a play entitled “The Warming Hive: An Architectural
Play in Five Acts,” which was performed at an architectural conference in Marfa, Texas, and will be published in early 2018. This
June, I have been invited to present The Warming Hive at the American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.) National Conference in
New York City, to speak about how the structure addresses the theme of “Social Resiliency.” In other words, how does The
Warming Hive engage and build community, one inflation at a time?
Our ongoing conversations about The
Warming Hive and my desire to more rigorously document its performance, both technically and socially: “Lights, Camera, Inflation: The Warming Hive.” As part of “Pillow Talk” — a multi-year research, writing, design and
teaching endeavor on the past, present and future of pneumatic architecture — The Warming Hive was originally developed
with students to explore issues of durability, flexibility, and thermal comfort in inflatables. That is, the project began as a pursuit
of technical performance, which in turn, has yielded unexpected social benefits. This SURF proposal aims to document both the
technical and social performance of The Warming Hive in the form of a five-minute animated film which will be presented to a
variety of audiences, as well as projected onto The Warming Hive itself for a forthcoming installation. It should also be noted
that I am currently working on a book project about the history of pneumatic architecture entitled Who Let the Air Out? The Rise
and Fall of Pneumatic Architecture, 195X-197X.
Tasks and Responsibilites
For this research project —“Lights, Camera, Inflation: The Warming Hive”— we will be exploring various experimental
modes of architectural representation to develop a short animated film about the technical and social performance of The
Warming Hive. Because The Warming Hive inflates in under three minutes, one of the exciting challenges we have is to capture
not only how the structure behaves once it is inflated, but while it is both being inflated and deflated. Specifically, how does air
move from the two blowers, through the concentric tubes of the double-walled pneumatic membrane during inflation? In
addition, because the structure was designed to be installed around an outdoor oven, how does heat travel from the oven,
through the structure, and up through the oculus (opening in roof, designed to exhaust excess heat and smoke)? How does The
Warming Hive perform thermodynamically during colder winter months? What works well in terms of its technical performance,
and where is their room for improvement? Additionally, how do people behave socially in and around the inflatable? Is the space
welcoming, accommodating, and comfortable? As a prototype, how can we learn from The Warming Hive? What would a
version 2.0 do similarly and/or differently? The SURF process will be carried out by Trevor as follows: 1) develop a written
narrative with Professor Moon for the animation (1 week); 2) develop a storyboard to visually map out the narrative and scenes
for the 5-minute animation (2 weeks); 3) develop refined drawings and diagrams of The Warming Hive (plans, elevations,
sections, and axonometrics) using Rhino and Adobe Illustrator (2 weeks); 4) experiment with green screen backdrops and stopmotion
animation (2 weeks); 5) experiment with different representational strategies for the animation (3 weeks); 6) develop and
complete animation (5 weeks). In addition, as part of our ongoing analysis of the technical and social performance of The
Warming Hive, we use photography and video to document 3+ inflations of The Warming Hive at different locations
in Milwaukee. These inflations and their respective documentation will be integral in developing and refining the narrative for the
proposed animated film.
Desired Qualifications
None Listed.