NOTHING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED
We love thinking outside the box, and sometimes we take on projects that are on the unconventional side. Our client first focus on finding a solution does not waiver when we approach a left-field challenge and we pride ourselves on coming up with solutions and concepts that inspire through originality.
Labyrinth
At SolutionsWon, we see the importance of expanding our capacity to take on projects that less conventionally fall between the lines of construction and development. To us, our completed projects exist as valuable tools that can be applied to future endeavors. This is a strategy we utilise to ensure that we continue to critique and improve our processes by identifying successful project formulas. Experimental projects such as "Labyrinth" are key to this process as they provide SolutionsWon with an outlet to trial ideas. If successful, aspects of the project can be applied to more permanent developments.
With this in mind, "Labyrinth" existed as an 800 sqm pop-up maze for Hobart's 2016 Dark Mofo Festival. The project was undertaken in association with Amaze Richmond, to verify the level of interest produced by constructing an interactive maze experience for guests to explore.
SolutionsWon Group collaborated with Great Scott Designs to conceptualise and bring this display to life. To suit the aesthetics of the festival and compliment the industrial fabric of the site’s surroundings, it was decided that the Labyrinth would be built entirely out of shipping containers, temporary fencing, and other commercial materials.
To bring the Labyrinth to life, a decision was made to conclude the experience with the placement of a giant, red acrylic, cube life vault, in which Melbourne-based artist Mayonaize was inside working for the entirety of the 8-day festival. The choice to construct the vault using transparent acrylic was to allow for his artwork to obstruct his visibility to guests as time passed. The addition of a bridge running the entire length of the vault was to allow visitors to experience the extent of his artwork from within.
How the instalment explored relationships between human and non-human, freedom and incarceration, darkness, light, and the shadows in between was brilliantly received by the huge crowds to attend the maze throughout the festival. Renowned street artist Rone showed his appreciation for the instalment by adding his talents to the external facade of the industrial maze.
The success of the instalment ingrained confidence in our pursuit of the Amaze Richmond project and continues to inspire plans to utilise the operational facility in Richmond as a canvas for future Dark Mofo exhibits.
In addition to this, the project's success is symbolic of our tried and tested capacity to think laterally and apply conventional management processes to bring unconventional projects to fruition.
Detached Art Tower
"Detached Art Tower" was proposed by SolutionsWon as a left-field bid to provide Menzies Research Institute with a non-intrusive data collection source on population health. This state-of-the-art proposal required extensive lateral thinking to develop. Our challenge for this concept was to find a way that health data could be gathered in a manner that engaged the public and added value to the local community and tourism industry.
Our solution…a 117-metre, climbable, glowing steel tower that was to be constructed in Tasmania's capital. Architects Robert Morris-Nunn and David Johnston of Circa Morris Nunn in collaboration with artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer brought this bold concept to life with a double helix stair design. This design invited participants to climb up and down 1300 plus individual stairs within a 6-meter-wide tower. The physical exertion required to do so was to allow the art tower to be used to collect health data from participants. The predicted public appeal of the destination would allow for such data to be collected on a large scale.
SolutionsWon collaborated with Rafael Lozano-Hammer, whose previous work included MONA’s “Pulse Room”, to design and engineer the tower. The final concept included data collection points in the form of interactive elements throughout the experience to allow data collection from a publicly available, engaging and immersive experience.
The integration of project objectives displayed by the "Detached Art Tower" project is a great example of how we think outside the box to meet the needs of key stakeholders when working on more conventional projects.
Whist the Art Tower never made it to the construction phase of the development, what did come from this project was recognition of our capacity to apply our process engineering skills to develop left-field solutions, that inspire through originality.