Week 10 – Construction

Having decided on a material I started thinking about how it might be hung. Initially I had wanted it to be a thin and simple wire hanging system (Iteration 1). My idea was to have several fixed points along the curtain that would attach into a suspended steel frame. Within those fixed points would be curtain rings that could be moved. Excess material would be in-between the fixed points so that there was movement within those boundaries. Quickly I realised this wasn’t quite what I wanted and there would be too much movement in the whole structure.

Iteration 2 shows a sketched design of a square pipe clamp that would attach around the roof trusses in the glasshouse. A steel rod could be attached into this connection and extend down to the lower connection. Iteration 3 shows a sketched curtain track and hook that would connect onto a wooden beam. The wooden beam would be fitted with hooks that a turnbuckle can hook onto. The use of a turnbuckle would allow the curtain height to hang at a consistent height throughout the space. Iterations 2 and 3 are what I decided to go with as I felt they would allow a good amount of movement in the curtain whilst still being structurally solid.

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Mojo Cafe on Symonds Street has an area to the side which has a large curtain design in it. This curtain is set on two tracks and can be pulled around to create three seperate spaces within one room. The way they have hung this curtain was influential to my own work, I love the simplicity and clean lines it creates. I was inspired to use a similar system with the wooden beam attached to the curtain track however I have used a more industrial style track in my own work and suspended the wooden beam in a different way.

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The image below shows the first iteration of my final construction drawings containing a square pipe clamp, nuts and bolts, threaded steel rod, turnbuckle with hook, eye bolt and a wooden beam 500x800mm

The final construction drawings consist of a square pipe clamp, nuts and bolts, threaded steel rod, turnbuckle with hook, eye bolt, wooden beam 300×800 and 200×800 (two beams to allow for hidden fixtures) steel curtain track and curtain trolley.

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