8,080 colored pencils chronicle university of minnesota's history

centennial chromagraph comprises 8,000 colored pencils
all images courtesy of variable projects

‘centennial chromagraph’ is a life-size, tactile infographic representing the history of the university of minnesota school of architecture made from 8,080 colored pencils. design and research studio variable projects used computational tools to generate a physical construction of collected data from the over the 100-year history. the installation’s 100 robotically-routed plywood ribs are joined together by a chromatic array of #2 pencils.

the specific contour of the panels reflects important eras and historical periods of the school, while the hues of the pencils echo the school’s evolving degree programs. for example, a large curve crescendos out from the center of the piece, materializing the thirty-year tenure of ralph rapson as head of the school of architecture, while the prevalence of the bachelor of architecture degree is manifested in the large number of red pencils that extends across a 60-year period.

pencils and wooden ‘ribs’ cast a shadow on the floor

each curve represents a specific portion of data

the installation acts as a timeline of events

8,080 colored pencils comprise the structure

university of minnesota architecture colored pencils

the wooden boards outlining the history of the school

project info:

design: adam marcus, daniel raznick
fabrication & assembly: adam marcus, daniel raznick, jordan barlow, sam daley, kevin groenke
computational design (catalyst workshop, march 2013): nathan miller
prototyping (catalyst workshop, march 2013): will adams, philip bussey, sam daley, matthew enos, derek gallagher, mohsen ghanbari, dantes ha, hwan kim, benjamin kraft, wei liu, dan raznick, stuart shrimpton, christina smith
centennial graphic identity: kai salmela

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