Overliner
By Joel Lamere, Lecturer, Department of Architecture, and Cynthia Gunadi, co-founder of Gunadi Lamere Design
March 2011 – June 2013
Whitaker Building E25
Origami on a large scale, Overliner highlights the architectural idiosyncrasies of a public space, transforming a familiar and busy passageway into a moment of surprise and repose. The installation, composed of folded translucent polypropylene sheets, lines the underside of the prominent staircase in the lobby of the Whitaker Building (E25), taking cues from its spiraling geometry. Where the stairs meet the ground, breaking away from the strict regularity of the repetitive system above, the Overliner follows suit, stretching into a broader canopy. Through a complex technique of curved folding, the flat sheets of plastic become figured rigid beams, revealing the deep textures latent in two-dimensional curved lines. The result is a lightweight and diaphanous spatial origami suspended overhead, underscoring and overlining a quietly remarkable architectural condition.
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| An expert in digital modeling and fabrication methods, Joel Lamere is Lecturer in Architectural Design at MIT, teaching core courses in architectural geometry, design and representation. Holding a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Lamere is active in architecture practice in the Boston area and maintains independent research in the fabrication of complex geometries. |
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| Cynthia Gunadi co-founded GLD (Gunadi Lamere Design) in 2009. The practice is invested in highly crafted design at all scales, from furniture details and building systems to urban strategies. Recent work includes an installation in the 2010 Sculpture Biennial at the Evergreen Museum in Baltimore. GLD’s design research is varied, from complex curved folding and geometric studies, to the misappropriation and subversion of conventionally non-architectural developer logics. Gunadi received her Master in Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. She is also a member of Hashim Sarkis Studios, a multidisciplinary firm with architecture and urban design projects located in the United States and the Middle East. |