Project Description

the UNBREATHABLE AIR explores the structural properties and fabrication strategies of carbon fiber as an experimental material to engage and interact with polluted air. The project extracts its shape from the boundary of the site subtracting double-curved polysurfaces to mold an undulated form. The self-sufficient structure is fabricated from resin-baked carbon fiber that is woven in various density patterns through a series of modules to reinforce its lightweight structural capacity. The gradient weaving patterns serve as a physical connection between the woven modules and the user perspective guiding views through materiality and allowing for an interactive, unpredictable visual experience. The digital expansion of the chamber also explores the proliferation of suspended solid material between the layers of carbon in order to display the collection of pollution as it accumulates in the network of the structure. This is intended to make tangible the invisible properties of the air we breathe amidst a crisis in global air quality.