Gae Aulenti's interior design works recreated with PLaSM modeling language in Javascript and Python
In this page are shown three home objects designed by the Italian Architect Gae Aulenti. These are a table lamp, a rocking chair and a coffee table.
Table of contents
The Architect
Gaetana Aulenti (1927 – 2012)
Her life
Better known as Gae Aulenti, she was an architect, designer, theorist and one of the best-known Italian designers in the second half of the 20th century. Her reputation being enhanced by a major award at the 1964 Milan Triennale, her participation in the seminal Italy: The New Domestic Landscape at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1972 and her award-winning layout of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris (1980-86). In addition to her striking "Arrivo al Mare" installation in the Italian Pavilion at the 1964 Milan Triennale, utilizing Picasso-inspired silhouettes and mirrors, during the 1960s she also designed furniture for a number of clients. These included the department store La Rinascente, Zanotta, Poltranova and Knoll, expanding in the 1970's to include Martinelli Luce and Artemide, for whom she designed lights. Aulenti also taught at Venice School of Architecture from 1960–1962 and at the Milan School of Architecture from 1964-1967.
Her style
Aulenti was one of the few women designing in the postwar period in Italy while creating many elegant pieces that spanned across a wide variety of styles and influences, with a focus on modern, radical design. She did however always want the focus of the room to be the occupants, she believed the people make the room a room and to not overpower. She had a modest style, Vogue has her saying "advice to whoever asks me how to make a home is to not have anything, just a few shelves for books, some pillows to sit on. And then, to take a stand against the ephemeral, against passing trends...and to return to lasting values."
The table lamp: Quadrifoglio
Specifications
- Infos: Gae Aulenti table lamp "Quadrifoglio" for Guzzini, Italy, 1970.
- Composition: chrome structure with caramel colored plastic shade.
- Eras: 1900s / 20th century
- Styles: Italian, '70s style
- Materials: chromed steel, plastic.
- Measurements: 48 x 48 x 52 cm (DxWxH)
- INTERACTIVE 3D VIEW
- Read the Javascript code
- Read the Python code
Description
Quadrifoglio is a variation of the more famous "Pipistrello" table lamp of Gae Aulenti. It is composed by four slices of plastic supported by four steel tubes standing on a circular steel base.
Decomposition
The 3D reconstruction of Quadrifoglio lamp is composed by:
- shade
- circular base
- supporting tubes
- light bulb
- bolts
To reproduce these shapes were used custom functions for spheres, disks, toruses, cylinders and rotational surfaces.
The rotational symmetry
Each one of these elements was conceived to be a quarter of the complete object, to leverage the rotational symmetry of the lamp around the Z-axis. To obtain a complete lamp I should only change the "copies" parameter of the REPLICA function.
//with copies = 4 this code construct the lamp
rotationalGroup = STRUCT(REPLICA(copies)([ disk, topDisk, pillarAngles, pillarArm, foot, COMP([lampR])]));
The shade
The shade was the most interesting part to model. I imagined a quarter of the shade to be a deformed sphere, so I used the SPHERE function as a base and modified it to transform the output on the three axis. With a proper domain I could strip down the unnecessary parts and obtain the desired slice of the shade.
//this function is based on a SPHERE function but with different coefficients
lampQuarterFunc = function (arg){
var a = arg[0];
var b = arg[1] + PI/2.0;
var u = SIN(a) * (COS(b) +1) * 0.9;
var v = (SIN(a)+0.25) * SIN(b);
var w = COS(a);
return [u,v,w];
};
Renderings gallery
Quadrifoglio - Pyplasm version
The same model was made Python-compatible with few code adaptations. Because the different implementations of the ROTATE and TRANSLATE functions between Pyplams and plasm.js, the model is not perfectly the same. It could be fixed easily though.
The rocking chair: Sgarsulv
Specifications
- Infos: Gae Aulenti rocking chair "Sgarsulv" for Poltronova, Italy, 1962.
- Composition: beechwood structure tinted with aniline, original seat in leather.
- Eras: 1900s / 20th century
- Styles: Italian, '60s style
- Materials: beechwood, leather.
- Measurements: 73,5 x 92 x 86 cm (DxWxH)
- INTERACTIVE 3D VIEW
- Read the Javascript code
- Read the Python code
Description
Whoever loves rocking chairs should recognize Sgarsulv: it is an iconic work of Gae Aulenti designed in 1962 for Poltronova, an Italian factory famous for producing quality seats that made italian design history.
Sgarsulv is made of a wood curved structure enhanced by a soft padding covered in quality leather. Its elegant and timeless design can decorate with style any room.
Decomposition
The 3D reconstruction of Sgarsulvlamp is composed by two main parts:
- curved wood structure
- leather seat with pillows and paddings
The wood structure
The wood structure itself is made of three main compounds:
- wood structure on the ground
- wood structure of the seatback
- wood planks refinements
To reproduce these shapes were used Bézier curves, a custom function for surfaces between Bézier curves, cuboids.
The supporting structure of Sgarsulv is perfect to be modeled by Bézier curves. With Bézier curves it is possible to have convoluted curves that slightly differ from one to another. To scale the curves I wrote a custom function that transform every control point of these specific curves.
Then I coded a function that builds the interpolating surface between Bézier curves, to make the solid model of the wood structure. Some cuboid were applied to refine the model.
The leather seat
The leather seat itself is made of four main parts:
- thin leather seat with red seams
- two tubular curved paddings
- head pillow
- cylindrical pillow
To reproduce these shapes were used Bézier curves, a custom function for surfaces between Bézier curves, cylinders, half toruses, profile-product surfaces.
The most difficult part of the seat was the two symmetrical paddings. They are builded from two Bézier curves: one for the curved profile and one closed curve for the section. They are connected by the thin leather seat with the visibles red seams, modeled by other two Bézier curves not in the same plane as the paddings to reproduce the depth of the seat.
//seat tubular right padding
seatPaddingProfile = BEZIER(S0)([[1, 0, 0], [0.87, 0, 0], [0.12, 0, 0.77], [0.61, 0, 1.62]]);
seatPaddingSection = BEZIER(S1)([[0.51, 0.83], [0.19, 1.22], [0.19, 0.45], [0.51 , 0.83]]);
paddingTube = MAP(PROFILEPROD_SURFACE([seatPaddingProfile, seatPaddingSection]))(dom2D);
Renderings gallery
Sgarsulv - Pyplasm version
The same model was made Python-compatible with few code adaptations. Because the different implementations of the ROTATE and TRANSLATE functions between Pyplams and plasm.js, the model is not perfectly the same. It could be fixed easily though.
In these renderings it could be noticed the exploded diagram of the seat components.
The coffe table: Jumbo
Specifications
- Infos: Gae Aulenti coffe table "Jumbo" for Knoll, Italy, 1965.
- Composition: marble plate on four marble pillars.
- Eras: 1900s / 20th century
- Styles: Italian, '60s style
- Materials: stoneware
- Measurements: 111 x 111 x 36 cm (DxWxH)
- INTERACTIVE 3D VIEW
- Read the Javascript code
Description
This classic low table made of marble combine its refined shapes with the strength of the material. It is the ideal for residential places and for offices and lounges too. It is made entirely of marble and rest on a pair of legs for each corner. To protect the marble it is applied a transparent finishing in polyester. It is produced with various marble, such as Carrara white, Calacatta white, Marquina black and others red marbles. The table weights 200kg.
Decomposition
The 3D reconstruction of Jumbo is composed by three main parts:
- table plan
- legs
- marble vains
The table plan and legs are simpy reporduced as cuboids and cylinders. The most challenging part was the recreations of the marble vains. I used the concepts introduced in HW3 to reproduce a spiked surface. Combining this with the flat table plan, I simulated the vains of the marble.
//function to randomize the heights of a plane given a 2d domain
function randomPattern(dom2d){
dom2d[z]=Math.floor((Math.random()*3)+1);
return dom2d;
}
Renderings gallery
Aknowledgments
Sources for Gae Aulenti's biography are: