preparation for layer 7
BIG ORBITS: Buffalo, New York | 2001
Mehrdad Hadigi with Frank Fantauzzi
At 9 years old, this project remains one of my favorite for its simple use of space and its eco-friendly approach by means of the re-use of such a common item in todays commercial world as a wood pallet. I often thought how great it would be if everyone could learn to use and reuse the materials around them and not manufacturing everything on demand. Everyone seems happier to go to your local hardware megastore and buy everything new than to try to reuse something for free.
Asked to Create a site-specific installation for a local art gallery, Architect Mehrdad Hadighi and colleague Frank Fantauzzi scratched their chins and started asking questions. What was the building about? Tipped off by the unusual thickness of the walls (1 meter), They investigated further and found that it used to a storehouse for blocks of ice. They considered the gallery name ‘Big Orbits’. They looked around a town that has been a centre for industry for years and discovered a city of wood pallets. And then they went to work.
With the intent of filling up a space with some relevant material (about 100 cubic meters), the pallets proved both plentiful and ecologically apt, since the team ended up using irregular panels that were slightly damaged and thus destined for ‘the burn pile’.
void in progress
Allowing for the irregular pallets, Hadighi and Fantauzzi devised a system of stacking them that would produce a structure that was sound, as they intended to ‘carve out’ the centre. The room was filled to the top as with so many blocks of ice, and the carefully defined shape, an ‘orbital void’ removed from the centre , creating the first of two installations. The second consisted of the removed ‘ orbital solid’, which was then displayed in the gallery courtyard. That solid was then acquired by the Griffis Sculpture Park for their permanent collection, where Hadighi says, ‘it is now a haven for bees and for children’.
This is a project that is delightful both in its seeming simplicity and in the way it manages to address a number of issues, in this case the History of the building, the current use and name of the space, and the desire of the two designers to create a twin-themed project that would signify their dual input.
It also expresses that genius for embracing the obvious, using the ubiquitous wood pallets to create both solid and void, as this is what the inherent construction of these basic transport tools is all about. Then there is the idea of pallets orbiting the city, of ideas orbiting of filling up like blocks of ice, solid and singular, and then melting together.
I find collaborations to be one of the healthiest ways of working. The process naturally makes on question everything
Big orbit extraction
courtesy of ‘XS’ big ideas|small buildings.
