On April 30th, 2019, Reed Parlier and Riley Howell lost their lives. Four other students were wounded, and classmates, families, friends, and an entire community were forever changed by a terrible event at UNC-Charlotte. In the wake of this tragedy, the UNC-Charlotte Niner Nation and the City of Charlotte are united with the strength, resilience, and hope that is illuminated by this memorial.
Remembrance is an act, a ritual, and an engagement with the past. Grounded by themes of illumination and healing, the Constellation Garden Remembrance Memorial aims to make remembrance visible and held in the light, to strengthen the community through human connection, to acknowledge the magnitude of loss, and to embrace an optimistic and hopeful future.
The memorial includes an interactive sculpture made of large steel arcs grounded with six pillars, one to represent each person killed and wounded. The crisscrossing arcs rise 25’ above a white granite plaza, creating a voluminous ceiling that hovers above a circular gathering space embraced by planted landforms and an arc of trees, flowers, and plants. Two narrow, arcing paths unfurl from the plaza, passing through lush native gardens that bloom white in the spring to commemorate the anniversary of the shooting and purple in the fall to welcome students back to campus. Sculpted stone pebble seats sit below the constellation and are designed to hold a reclined body comfortably – smooth and soft.
A web of thin cables is anchored by the arcs and holds an array of lights, suspended against the sky. These lights are frozen in a map of the constellations of stars in the night sky on April 30, 2019, at a moment when time stopped for all of those affected by this tragedy. Reed and Riley’s pillars are wrapped with commemorative bands that, when touched, send a kinetic wave of increased light intensity through the constellations above, signifying the network of those affected by gun violence. Light ripples quietly and slowly across the sculpture, representing the ever-present constellation of trauma, pain, and loss caused by gun violence.
The sculpture represents both the vast emptiness of the night sky, but also the feeling of being connected and together. Designed to heighten the senses, the sculpture is at once delicate, strong, reflective, and ephemeral. The landscape holds the sculpture carefully and softly within it, integrating additional opportunities for seating for contemplation, and reflection, and remembrance.
Thank you to an incredible team of collaborators: Ten X Ten Landscape Architecture and Susan Hatchell Landscape Architecture, PLLC.
With additional assistance from 35 North, Civility Localized, Engineered Designs Inc., Heartland Contracting, LLC, Lynch Mykins StructuralEngineers, Peachland Design & Fabrication, and TranSystems.
Thank you to the UNC Charlotte staff and community, and the families and friends of those impacted by this event for all their support in the creation of this memorial.
Commissioned by UNC-Charlotte
Hypersonic
Bill Washabaugh
Perry Nascek
David Gould
Alex Garcia
Yevgeny Koramblyum
Assistance from: Anika Kash, Mischa Langley
Thanks to RGB Lights for supplying us the lights.
Photos: Mitchell Kearney
Hypersonic supports the following gun violence charities:
Violence Policy Center
https://vpc.org/
Everytown for Gun Safety
https://www.everytown.org/
Tidelines is a kinetic sculpture commissioned by the Museum of Science in Boston, MA for their new Engineering Design Workshop exhibit.
16 origami structures form an overlapping field of motion and light, inspired by the lily pads on the tidal estuary underneath the Museum and the clouds in the skies above it. In nature, simplicity of form often hides complex structures. The sculpture creates a unified choreography of motion and light, ever changing and evolving with time. We were interested in exploring how multidimensional systems converge and create beauty through hidden complexity. How do these systems affect us in ways we cannot anticipate?
Each origami element is driven by two independently controlled motors, creating a body that can expand to create a larger volume, and collapse to be nearly invisible against the ceiling. Custom lighting makes the Tyvek structures glow with internal color. The system is run by custom software that drives both the motors and lighting. Tidelines serves as the centerpiece for an exhibit that inspires children and families to explore the worlds of science, art, and engineering.
Concept, design, assembly, software, and installation by Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Gwylim Johnstone
Heather Blind
Katie Treidl
Alex Garcia
Anna Torvaldsdotter
Pauli King
Origami Assistance from Matthew Shlian
Assembly Assistance from Casey Bloomquist
Technical Assistance from Matt Felson and Nathan Lachenmyer
Special thanks to the wonderful team at the Museum of Science
Music by Candlegravity
Between the Currents is a kinetic sculpture commissioned by Weber State University for their new Noorda Engineering, Science and Technology building.
The sculpture is inspired by the invisible forces of nature that are acting all around us. As in nature, beauty emerges when diverse forces converge, blooming into unexpected forms of color and shape. Animations of motion are constantly evolving on the sculpture, and are based on equations that are used to model forces in nature. These forces flow in waves. Similar behaviors may be found in electromagnetism, fluids dynamics, material science, gravity, and beyond - often obeying the same fundamental equations. We've taken a selection of these equations and remapped them across this surface to represent the beauty that appears in nature.
119 hand-folded Tyvek origami shapes create this flowing sculptural surface, hanging on a curved aluminum frame in the building atrium. Custom software drives a series of electric motors, moving the origami elements in gentle harmony. The sculpture is choreographed to follow animation sequences of different forces in nature, following real-time mathematic models of natural behaviors. The sculpture also utilizes building energy use data as sculpture movement input.
We built this sculpture in our studio in Brooklyn through the winter of 2021, and installed it in Utah in summer 2022.
Credits:
Concept, Design, Fabrication, Programming by Hypersonic
Commissioned by the Utah State Division of Arts for Weber State University
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Alex Garcia
David Gould
Perry Nascek
Gwylim Johnstone
Heather Blind
Katie Treidl
Modeling and Visualization: Yevgeny Koramblyum
Assembly assistance from: Anika Kash, Mischa Langley, and Jack Daniels
Board Development: White Wing Logic
Special Thanks to the Utah State Arts Commission, the Weber State University staff, the construction team at Big D Construction, and Jeff Lieberman
More information on the sculpture can be found on Weber State Universities sculpture page: https://www.weber.edu/east/between-currents.html
Diffusion Choir is a kinetic sculpture commissioned by Biomed Realty for the headquarters of Shire, a global biotechnology company, in Cambridge, MA. Hypersonic worked in collaboration with Sosolimited and Plebian Design to design, program, engineer, and fabricate this artwork.
The sculpture celebrates the beauty of individuals working together in harmony, moving as a single entity, creating something greater than the sum of their parts. Four hundred kinetic elements form a hanging volume in the sunlit atrium, describing the motions of an invisible flock of birds soaring throughout the space. Elements are made from a durable high-density polyethylene membrane which can expand and contract via a silent stepper motor controlled by custom circuit boards. The elements open and close individually, choreographed by custom software running real-time mathematical flocking algorithms. Invisible birds exit and join space over the span of each hour, periodically coalescing into a single flock.
Diffusion Choir reflects the collaborative spirit of Shire and its perpetual quest for innovation in the name of the patient. The graceful breath-like movements of the piece create an open, contemplative space for all the inhabitants of the building to enjoy.
Credits:
By Hypersonic, Sosolimited, Plebian Design
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Gwylim Johnstone
Caitlin Morris
Chris Tsimbidis
Anna Torvaldsdotter
Plebian Design:
Jeff Leiberman
Additional fabrication:
Lisa Kori Chung, Yvette King, Cecile Roca, Marina Litvinskaya, Scott Mackinlay
Special thanks to:
Muffin Gordonson, Matt Shlian, Paul J Odom & the team at Kinross Fab, Dev Joshi, Ben Wild at McNamara Salvia, James Patten, Sal Zinno at Biomed Realty, Adi Marom, JackDaniels
Interweaving Futures is a permanent outdoor sculpture that weaves together the metaphorical disciplines of science and art. The sculpture creates a unique space where people can gather to reflect and create, together.
At night, the two interweaving surfaces dance with light via LED lighting animations created by UWF students. These light animation are meant to create a "campfire" around which students and faculty of all disciplines might converge, intermingle, and create.
Concept, design and fabrication by Hypersonic.
Hypersonic
Bill Washabaugh
Katie Treidl
Gwylim Johnstone
Heather Blind
Anna Torvaldsdotter
Caitlin Morris
Pauli King
Alex Garcia
Kirk Gordon
Additional PCB design and bit shifting: Nathan Lachenmyer
Fabrication assistance by: Jen Storch and David Gould
Special thanks to:
Barbara Larson, Terri Perry, Wade Jefferies at UWF, and Jake Sullivan and the team at Craftsman Concrete.
This sculpture was made possible through the University of West Florida’s Askew Institute of Multidisciplinary Studies and the Department of Art and Design.
Deconstructed is a kinetic sculpture commissioned by Property Markets Group (PMG) for the Sales Center lobby of their new 100-story Waldorf Astoria tower development in Miami, Florida. Hypersonic worked with the design firm Second Story to develop the concept for the PMG team.
This project is the easily the longest project duration in our history, elapsing nearly six years from start to finish and touching every employee of Hypersonic during that time. With dedicated efforts by so many of our team members over the years, this sculpture is literally and metaphorically more than the sum of its parts.
55 hand-made quadrilateral polished elements move in disparate rhythms, coming together to form the outline of a 3-dimensional cube. Hanging in the sales-center lobby for this new super-tall skyscraper development in Miami, the sculpture's form references the series of stacked cube forms that make up architect Carlos Ott's skyscraper design. Conceptually, Deconstructed references pieces that come together in different ways and times to create a magical place.
Each series of the hanging elements is controlled by an industrial servo-motor, totaling 12 in all. Each servo motor drives a gearbox and custom 3d-printed pulley, which dictates the precise motion parameter each elements describes. All elements come together at their highest point in a flat plane, and descend to create the cubic form at their lowest point. These elements create a body that can expand to create a larger volume, and collapse to be nearly flat against the ceiling. Custom lighting makes the highly polished copper surfaces glow with light, casting golden reflections and dark shadows that dance on the far walls of the room. The system is run by custom software that drives the motors on a daily schedule.
Credits:
Design, Fabrication, and Installation by Hypersonic.
Concept Development by Hypersonic with Second Story.
Lighting by HLB Lighting.
Commissioned by Property Markets Group.
Hypersonic
Bill Washabaugh
Gwylim Johnstone
Heather Blind
Caitlin Morris
Katie Treidl
Alex Garcia
Anna Torvaldsdotter
Pauli King
Chris Tsimbidis
Special thanks to Adi Marom, Erin Gouveia, and Jeian Jeong from Second Story.
Special thanks to Jeff Lieberman.
Assembly assistance from David Gould, Casey Bloomquist, and Jen Storch.
Installation assistance from Jeff Lieberman and Renzo Valer.
Life of Tree is a kinetic sculpture that simulates a tree’s reflection in water; a metaphor for how all scientific theories are only a reflection of the underlying reality. Depending on the distortions of our theories, the reality is seen more or less clearly.
The sculpture was inspired by the biological tree of life, which highlights the underlying connection between all parts of our natural world, linking patterns across seemingly disparate disciplines.
The movement of Life of Tree embodies the scientific principles of resonance and frequency response - how systems exhibit a wide range of responses across the vast scales of space and time — sometimes known, sometimes hidden, and sometimes completely unexpected. Life of Tree creates a reflection of the natural world that keeps our eyes open toward the unknown.
The branch structure of the tree is 3D printed out of 190 unique hollow pieces, separated into 24 slices composing the height of the tree. The sculpture’s motion is driven by a single motor, and relies on tuned springs to transfer motion from one vertical slice to the next. Various wave patterns play through the tree, creating constantly evolving motion ranging from a gentle sweep to quickly shifting wave peaks. The tree is entirely powered by solar panels installed on the roof above it.
Life of Tree was inspired by past works including Alexander Calder’s tree-like sculptures, Natalie Jeremijenko’s Tree Logic, Andy Goldsworthy’s works, Janet Echelman’s fishnet structures, and more historical references to the tree of life and the motions of mass-spring systems.
Credits:
Concept, design, and fabrication by Hypersonic and Plebian Design
Fabrication assistance from Dan Paluska, Casey Bloomquist, Francesca Rodriguez Sawaya, Chris Tsimbidis
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Gwylim Johnstone
Caitlin Morris
Heather Blind
Katie Treidl
Plebian Design:
Jeff Lieberman
Special thanks to:
Jim Glenn and the selection committee at University of Utah, Jordan Gerton, Henry White, Nervous System, Dan Paluska, Ross Keong and the Shapeways team, Sigrid Adriaenssens, Miles Yoshida, Sougwen Chung, Stephen Somers, Nic Annette Miller, Casey Bloomquist, Francesca Rodriguez Sawaya, Chris Tsimbidis, Hunt Electric, Tyson Cox and Adam Hudson at Okland Construction, Cameron Empey at Reaveley Engineers
For World Water Day 2018, Hypersonic was invited to make a sculpture to act as a centerpiece for donation efforts at a collaborative fundraising event sponsored by Water.org and Stella Artois. Water Ripples is a sculpture designed to celebrate the beauty and power of water, surrounding visitors in waves in response to donations made to the water access charity.
Water Ripples is composed of 600 handmade water droplets, controlled by custom designed motorized winches. Custom circuit boards and software allow the elements to animate through sculptural forms, creating impressions of waves and underwater life around visitors. The sculpture moves smoothly through algorithmically generated ambient wave forms, descending to surround visitors with a variety of water-inspired forms when an event visitor contributes a donation.
Water Ripples was installed in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal for the week of World Water Day 2018, in collaboration with Media Monks and Mother New York
Credits:
Concept Design by Hypersonic, Media Monks, and Mother
Engineering Design, Software Design, Fabrication, and Installation by Hypersonic
Rigging and Lighting by Bestek Lights Fiber Optics by Media Monks
Set Carpentry by PropnSpoon
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Gwylim Johnstone
Caitlin Morris
Heather Blind
Katie Treidl
Special thanks to:
Matt Felsen, Brian Wolfe at Costume Armour, Casey Bloomquist, Cecile Roca, David Gould, Kasumi Hanouchi, Jen Storch, VA Metal Fab
Seed and Signal is a kinetic sculpture that explores the dynamics of group behavior. In nature, individuals that crowd together often exhibit dynamics whereby tiny changes in behavior can alter the balance of the group between order and chaos.
Following rules modeled on the study of group dynamics in nature, Seed and Signal illustrates the fragile equilibrium created when individuals with a common goal gather together. Sometimes success spreads gracefully, sometimes information fails to transfer, and other times chaos takes over.
Many of the patterns in group behavior can be characterized by similar sets of governing equations, from starling murmuration, to ants marching, to the movement of mopeds in Hanoi traffic chaos. We modeled the variations of algal blooms, bee foraging patterns, cell migration, bait balling in schooling fish, and the movement of bacteria. Seed and Signal generatively animates through sequences of these natural processes, varying the conditions of data spread ever so slightly, to create an evolving display of natural group growth, death, success, and chaos.
Seed and Signal was inspired by the study of fluttering butterflies and the beautiful patterns and colors they create. We found reference in the artworks of Danny Rosin, Tim Prentice, Ned Kahn, and Rob Ley. The color shift effect in this sculpture was created using custom lenticular surfaces, with one face painted glossy copper and the other painted gray. Behind each of the 200 pairs of wings, a motor drives an acme screw mechanism to animate the wings into position.
Concept, design, and fabrication by Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Caitlin Morris
Gwylim Johnstone
Heather Blind
Katie Treidl
Thanks to:
Jen Storch and Kirk Gordon for assembly assistance, Jeff Lieberman, Matt Felsen, Sosolimited, and Texas Tech University
Sky Wave is a kinetic sculpture for Royal Caribbean’s newest cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas. It is the signature artwork, placed above the Royal Esplanade in the ship’s main public gallery.
The 99 gleaming red petals of Sky Wave sway rhythmically with a choreography of evolving generative motions. The movements of bird feathers and flocks, schools of fish, and sea anemones inspired these patterns. Sky Wave reminds passengers of the interactions between the forces of nature and beauty of movement, while giving people a moment of wonder and awe.
The sculpture is driven by eleven motors directly from a Processing sketch. Each servo motor drives a 100:1 planetary gearbox, which is connected to a series of link arms, with nine “petals” connected to each gearbox. The petals were created out of foam and fiberglass, then painted with a custom designed effect to show the gleam of bright red paint, with the subtle organic texture of gold cracks exposed from beneath.
Sky Wave was installed on Ovation of the Seas in Papenburg, Germany in February 2016. Ovation sails out of its home port of Beijing China in the northern summer, and Australia in the southern summer.
Credits:
Concept Design and Installation by Hypersonic and Plebian Design
Engineering Design, Fabrication, and Architectural Integration by Hypersonic and Plebian Design
Artist Management by Peter Millard and Partners Ltd
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Gwylim Johnstone
Caitlin Morris
Chris Tsimbidis
Anna Torvaldsdotter
Plebian Design:
Jeff Leiberman
Special thanks to:
Heather Blind, Andrea Lauer, Jeanette Subero, Jamie Zigelbaum, Nickolas Chelyapov, Marcelo Coelho, Matt Carson @ Minarik, Corey Flanigan @ Animatics, the Processing team, Carl Albrect, Chris Wood, N-E-R-V-O-U-S System, Chris Danemeyer, Small Design Firm, Bluebird Graphics Solutions, Boston Lasers, Katya Popova, Stu Heys, Ally Millard, Peter Millard, Neale Parry, and Ximena Vengoechea
Breaking Wave is an anamorphic kinetic sculpture created for Biogen-Idec's new headquarters in Cambridge, MA.
Breaking Wave tells the story of the search for patterns, and the surprising results that come by changing our point of view. 804 suspended spheres move in a wave-like formation. When the wave crests and breaks, the balls hover momentarily in a cloud. From almost anywhere in the room, this cloud is purely chaotic, but step into one of two hidden spots, and this apparent chaos shows a hidden pattern. From the first, a labyrinth hints at the search for knowledge, and from the second, a Fibonacci spiral inspired flower reminds us of the natural order and patterns found in nature.
Scientists search through billions of experimental data points in order to find patterns to develop new drugs, to treat multiple sclerosis, cancer, and other diseases. Without a particular framework or perspective, these are just 0’s and 1’s, with no form or information. But with an understanding of molecular dynamics, these data points create a clear picture about the hidden dynamics within the body, allowing scientists to craft drugs to successfully treat these diseases.
Above the sculpture lies the mechanism that drives its motion. A motor drives a large rotating stainless steel cam. 36 rollers follow the contour of the cam, which traces out the overall waveform. Each roller slides on a linear track, pulling a cable that spins one of the 36 output shafts. Distributed along each shaft are different sized drums from which the wooden sphere (coated in zinc and steel, and then rusted chemically) are hung. As the shafts rotate, the drums pull the balls up and down – larger drums pull balls higher. In this way, the size of the 804 drums mechanically programs the images hidden in the cloud of balls.
This concept was designed with pencil, paper, and Processing. The structure was designed in Solidworks. The piece was built with many hands, and several miles of wire rope.
If you would like to visit in person, Breaking Wave runs Monday through Friday, 8am to 8 pm at 255 Binney St. Cambridge MA. The sculpture is viewable from the street, or from inside the lobby. Feel free to ask the guards where the hidden spots are, if you don’t find them.
Credits:
Concept and Design, Engineering, Fabrication, and Installation by Hypersonic and Plebian Design
Project Management by Small Design Firm
Lighting Design by David Weiner Design
Sphere patina by Lightfast D+B
Order from Chaos Video by Alberta Chu at ASKLabs
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Katie Treidl
Gwylim Johnstone
Julia Buntaine
Plebian Design:
Jeff Leiberman
Additional fabrication help by:
Kasumi Hinouchi, Neal Mayer, Heather Blind
Special thanks to:
Ed Dondero, Melissa Kendis, and Dan McIntyre at Biogen, Jenna Fizel, Nathan Lachenmyer, David Small, Alberta Chu, Lauren McCarthy, Kyle McDonald, JB Michel, Dan Paluska, Chris Parlato, Plus Fabrication, Scott Taylor, Sosolimited, Chris Danemayer
Music by knolls
Read more about this project:
The Creators Project
Gizmodo
Wired
Fast Company
Engadget
Constructive Interference is a sculpture designed to engage members of the OSU community in active learning, by presenting a mystery to their senses: a static object that appears, impossibly, to be moving.
The sculpture is a metaphor for how we exchange knowledge, how synthesis of apparently different fields widens our perspective, and how investigation deepens our understanding of the reality in which we live. The composition of the moire pattern derives from the principles of electrostatics, where two electric poles form field lines in an exchange of electrical information.
Constructive Interference is composed of two large patterned sheets of steel, designed to create a rapidly changing visual interference effect as viewers pass by. The effect and shape of the piece changes dramatically from one vantage point to another around the space, while the sculpture itself remains static.
The team developed the sculpture and its dynamic pattern using Processing, Rhino-Grasspopper, and Python. The rear surface was painted directly on to the wall, with several CNC-vinyl cut masks used to create the painted rust pattern. The front surface was fabricated from 20 laser cut pieces of Corten steel, welded together on site and finished to form a single 30 foot wide, 17 foot tall steel sheet. This surface was hand-treated to a rich weathered patina, curving from flush with the wall to a dramatic overhang.
Credits:
Concept Design by Hypersonic and Plebian Design
Engineering Design, Fabrication, Architectural Integration, and Installation by Hypersonic
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Gwylim Johnstone
Caitlin Morris
Heather Blind
Chris Tsimbidis
Anna Torvaldsdotter
Plebian Design:
Jeff Lieberman
Scott Macinlay (Intern)
Special thanks to:
Dave Hornsby @ Integrated Design Engineers, James Gridley and the Virginia MetalFab team, Kate Ali @ Oregon Arts Commission, John Gremmels @ OSU
Patterned by Nature was commissioned by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, North Carolina. 10 feet wide and 90 feet long, this sculptural ribbon winds through a five story atrium of the Nature Research Center museum expansion. The exhibit celebrates our abstraction of nature's infinite complexity into patterns through the scientific process. It brings to light the similarity of patterns in our universe, across all scales of space and time.
The ribbon frame is made from laser-cut aluminum and steel sheets, sandwiched around 3,600 tiles of individually dimmable LCD glass. Custom electronics inside the panels drive each pixel, with power and data coming through its hanging cables. The ribbon runs on 75 watts of power.
Credits:
Concept Design by Hypersonic, Sosolimited and Plebian Design
Engineering Design, Architectural Integration, Fabrication, and Installation by Hypersonic and Plebian Design
Project Management by Hypersonic
Software Development and User Interface by Sosolimited
Custom PCB Design by Patten Studio
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Katie Treidl
Plebian Design:
Jeff Lieberman
Additional Fabrication:
Heather Blind, Brett VanAalsberg, Matt Tyson, Andrew Personette, Mark Miller, and Jake Oas.
Read more about this project:
The Creators Project
The Verge
Motionographer
Gizmodo
Create Digital Motion
Sitting Wave brings an element of nature back to the busy metropolis through dynamic, organic motion. This piece is a reflection of the waves that exist throughout nature, and the ripples that are caused by our motions. When a visitor sits on the bench, a wave is created that cascades down the bench and back. This slow motion liquid movement creates interacting patterns as multiple people sit and stand.
The bench connects the residents of San Jose to the unification of art and technology, while reminding us of our interconnection with nature. We have also found that it has the keen ability to bring strangers together, as their play leads to interaction.
This piece was a Zero1 2012 Biennial arts grant award winner for public art in San Jose, CA.
Credits:
Concept Design by Hypersonic and Plebian Design
Engineering Design and Installation by Hypersonic
Hypersonic:
Bill Washabaugh
Katie Treidl
Plebian Design:
Jeff Lieberman
Read more about this project:
Zero Biennial
Organograph was a proposal for a large public sculpture in downtown San Jose, CA, created in collaboration by Geo Homsy, Chico MacMurtrie, and Bill Washabaugh. The Organograph proposal was chosen as the winning proposal for the Climate Clock Initiative, a multi-year international competition to develop artwork that addresses human caused climate change and seeks to dynamically describe its long term impacts. Organograph takes the form of an 80 foot tall heliotropic flower that invites the public to come inside to observe, investigate, and respond to the processes of climate change as they are represented through a series of kinetic and natural mechanisms.
The team spent several months as artists in residence at the Montalvo Arts Center near San Jose, CA, where they constructed a 1/8th scale model of the moving sculpture.
The team is currently working with the city and various agencies on long term funding and realization strategies. More on this sculpture can be found on the Organograph official website.
