For my Wearable Task, I decided to choose the Eden Project. What struck me about the Eden Project is the ability to hold a variety of Biomes within a greenhouse essentially made from inflatable plastic cells which are supported by steel frames. The incredible structure is home to the world’s largest indoor rainforest as well. I am captivated by the potential to create man-made structures to work in harmony with the environment and create structures which support and encourage the growth of natural environments in order to preserve endangered species. The building was designed to serve the purpose of being future-proof, made with responsibly sourced materials, energy efficient, and constructed with minimal waste.
Drawings and Sketches inspired by the ‘Eden Project’.
I attempted to capture the details of the textures and shapes of the plastic inflated capsules seen in the ‘Eden Project’. I played with transparency to reflect the nature of the plastic and depicting the way light creates different shapes and textures onto the material. I experimented using different shapes from circles to hexagons to truly reflect the structure of the building itself. In order to translate this into material, as a wearable object, I found that using bubble wrap will not only allow for the same texture and transparency of the ‘Eden Project’, but also enable me flexibility to create the dome-shaped effect and alter the shape to the desired outcome.
Making Process
Deciding on material came quickly to me as the structure and material of the ‘Eden Project’ vividly resembles that of bubble wrap. I sourced recycled bubble wrap from packaging and found one with larger sphere capsules which I felt effectively replicated the large dome-shaped bubbles. I started by cutting up the bubble wrap into segments carefully cutting around each bubble ensuring not to cut too close to the edge as this would make the entire column flatten out. Once I had a sufficient amount to cover the shape of my head, the challenge I faced was holding the sphere structure of the bubble wrap. I overcame this by spacing out the rows evenly and sellotaping the edges to the previous row. I found that bubble wrap was very flexible and at times I struggled with this as it did not hold the structure of the dome as well as I would have hoped. For future reference, I would try to use stronger materials on the interior such as balsa-wood or steel rods similar to those used in the original design of the ‘Eden Project’.
Final Outcome ‘Wearable Object’
Overall, I am very pleased with the way my wearable object turned out. I think the structure of the bubble wrap was effective in encapsulating the sphere structure of the item. I also think it demonstrates life vs man-made structures substantially as my body represents the living object almost engulfed by a plastic man-made object with an opening at the front which enables me to breathe. In a way, this reinforces the idea that although the object is made from plastic, it is still able to support living organisms through recycling and re-purposing different materials. This idea can be seen similar to the ‘Eden Project’ as it is evident that the man-made plastic structures are home to endless eco-systems in sustaining the quality and quantity of them.