Echoviren - 3d printed outdoor structure

echoviren from TERRA TOX'IS on Vimeo.
Smith|Allen Studio Presents EchoViren

Gualala, CA. Smith|Allen is participating in the Project 387 Residency,
located in Mendocino Country from August 4-18, 2013. In the heart of
a 150-acre redwood forest, the collaborative duo will be creating a site
responsive, 3D printed architectural installation: Echoviren. The project
merges architecture, art and technology to explore the dialectic between
man, machine and nature. The Project 387 open house and reception
will be Saturday, August 17 from 2-5pm.

Spanning 10 x 10 x 8 feet, Echoviren is a translucent white enclosure, stark
and artificial against the natural palette of reds and greens of the forest.
Walking around and within the structure, the viewer is immediately
consumed by the juxtaposition, as well as uncanny similarity, of natural
and unnatural: the large oculus, open floor, and porous surface framing
the surrounding coastal landscape.

Echoviren is being fabricated, printed, and assembled on site by the
designers. Through the use of architectural technologies and a battery
of consumer grade Type A Machines desktop 3D printers, the duo will
construct the world’s first 3D printed, full-scale architectural installation.
Entirely composed of 3D printed plant based bio-plastic, the constructed
space will decompose naturally back into the forest in 30 to 50 years.
A graft within the space of the forest, Echoviren is a space for
contemplation of the landscape, of the natural, and our relationship
with these constructs. It focuses on the essence of the forest not as a
natural system, but as a palimpsest. The hybridized experience within
the piece highlights the accumulated iterations of a site, hidden within
contemporary landscapes. Echoviren exposes an ecosystem of dynamic
natural and unnatural interventions: the interplay of man and nature
moderated by technology over the centuries.

Smith|Allen merges an architect and designer with a sculpture and
installation artist. The duo’s practice combines an interest in installation,
material and dimension with architecture, computer modeling, and novel
technologies. Smith|Allen focuses on work that is visually, conceptually
and experientially engaging for the viewer. Bryan Allen received his
Masters in Architecture from University of California at Berkeley, and has
taught at UC Berkeley and San Jose State. He has exhibited at Wurster
Hall, the Firehouse Collective, and Headquarters Gallery in Berkeley, and
at numerous spaces in Salt Lake City, Utah. Stephanie Smith is a Bay Area
artist who graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Art Practice
Psychology. She has shown at Yerba Buena Gardens, the Worth Ryder
Gallery, Headquarters Gallery, the Firehouse Collective and Café Local
123 in Berkeley. The duo lives and works in Oakland.

Project 387 is a multidisciplinary residency program launching its
inaugural season August 4 – 18, 2013. Located in rural Mendocino
Country, Project 387 has offered six artists an opportunity to develop
their proposed projects in the quiet of giant redwoods. This year’s
selected residents are: Bryan Allen and Stephanie Smith (Oakland CA),
Rich Benjamin (Brooklyn NY), Claudia Bicen (San Francisco CA), Sean
McFarland (San Francisco CA), and Robert Wechsler (Glendale CA).
Project 387 provides community-based living and working experience to
artists in all career stages. The residency is a unique opportunity to dive
into the creative process in a focused, exploratory and rigorous manner
while removed from the clamor of urban distractions.

www.smithallenstudio.com
Music By Patrick Krier