Ice Cube
Ice Cube Lot Size: N/A Size: 44 SF Location: Seattle, Washington Primary Project Type: Other, Temporary Installation
Ice Cube
Ice Cube is a temporary installation designed and built for the 2016 Seattle Design Festival, a weekend-long event bringing together architects, engineers, designers, city officials and the community at large to celebrate and explore how design improves the quality of our lives and our urban center. Inspired by the festival’s theme, Design Change, Ice Cube showcased the stages of the natural water cycle as the ice shifted from opaque to translucent. As the 10-ton ice cube evaporated and melted over 10 days, the installation offered a cool respite to visitors and scattered ambient sunlight and colors throughout the park. The pure form of the cube gradually eroded in the summer sun, marking the passage of time as its water slowly returned to the nearby Puget Sound. Measuring nearly seven-feet on all sides, the cube was made from 64 smaller ice blocks, each individually frozen, hand selected and rotated for best fit. In order to adjoin the blocks together into a single form, they were each milled to allow their edges to receive each other; they were then stacked and sprayed with water to fuse the seams. This particular technique ensured that the bonds between blocks would not break down in direct sunlight. The cube was lit from above by a suspended LED light, giving Ice Cube an ethereal persona at night, as it appeared to glow from within.
Throughout the design festival, the public was invited to interact freely with Ice Cube. Visitors’ excitement and intrigue was evident as adults, children and pets engaged with Ice Cube using multiple senses: taking in the sight of the imposing form, the touch and smell of the cold and wet ice, and for a few brave passersby–even the taste. The installation inspired surprising conversations not only with the design community but also with surrounding schools, the media, and atmospheric scientist and local weather celebrity Cliff Mass who invited people to guess how long Ice Cube would last. The process for Ice Cube was a departure from the typical design process, which tends to focus on the longevity of a structure. Instead, the concept and desired result of Ice Cube was a subtractive process, catalyzed by natural elements and human engagement that slowly broke down the form. Ultimately, Ice Cube was completed by its slow degradation, becoming more sculptural over time until its eventual evaporation.
Ice Cube
Ice Cube is a temporary installation designed and built for the 2016 Seattle Design Festival, a weekend-long event bringing together architects, engineers, designers, city officials and the community at large to celebrate and explore how design improves the quality of our lives and our urban center. Inspired by the festival’s theme, Design Change, Ice Cube showcased the stages of the natural water cycle as the ice shifted from opaque to translucent. As the 10-ton ice cube evaporated and melted over 10 days, the installation offered a cool respite to visitors and scattered ambient sunlight and colors throughout the park. The pure form of the cube gradually eroded in the summer sun, marking the passage of time as its water slowly returned to the nearby Puget Sound. Measuring nearly seven-feet on all sides, the cube was made from 64 smaller ice blocks, each individually frozen, hand selected and rotated for best fit. In order to adjoin the blocks together into a single form, they were each milled to allow their edges to receive each other; they were then stacked and sprayed with water to fuse the seams. This particular technique ensured that the bonds between blocks would not break down in direct sunlight. The cube was lit from above by a suspended LED light, giving Ice Cube an ethereal persona at night, as it appeared to glow from within.
Throughout the design festival, the public was invited to interact freely with Ice Cube. Visitors’ excitement and intrigue was evident as adults, children and pets engaged with Ice Cube using multiple senses: taking in the sight of the imposing form, the touch and smell of the cold and wet ice, and for a few brave passersby–even the taste. The installation inspired surprising conversations not only with the design community but also with surrounding schools, the media, and atmospheric scientist and local weather celebrity Cliff Mass who invited people to guess how long Ice Cube would last. The process for Ice Cube was a departure from the typical design process, which tends to focus on the longevity of a structure. Instead, the concept and desired result of Ice Cube was a subtractive process, catalyzed by natural elements and human engagement that slowly broke down the form. Ultimately, Ice Cube was completed by its slow degradation, becoming more sculptural over time until its eventual evaporation.
