Ptero

A KINETIC ARCHITECTURE INSTALLATION.

Ptero is a kinetic window wall, retrofitted behind sliding barn doors on a warehouse concert venue in Vancouver, BC. Inspired by a beetle’s delicate wings, revealed from behind a protective and hard coating, Ptero is revealed from the metal sliding doors.

As the beetle spreads it’s wings to take flight, Ptero begins a preshow with a dual motion of simultaneous rotation up and out, forming a grand entry. Colored light washes along the ground as the acrylic panels dance past one another, creating artistic anticipation for the imminent entertainment inside the venue.

The design combined the economics and practicality of kinetic design with the beauty of moving architecture. The project was a study in how temporary movement of performance can interact with human behavior. Ptero was created with fellow students James Glover, Peter Gauthier, and Andrew Drakeford, with critiques and advise from Turner Exhibits in Lynnwood, Washington.

My personal roles involved building the physical model, assisting with modeling in Modo for the animation, concept and design development, and structural feasibility calculations.