Fluid Sculptural Vessels

March 29, 2019 | Product

Fluid Sculptural Vessels by Zaha Hadid & Gareth Neal

Fluid Sculptural Vessels was sculpted using oak. The process combines technological innovation and traditional wood techniques to produce a fluid flowing form, created by Renowned architect Zaha Hadid and British designer Gareth Neal.

The finished works are beautiful and innovative. The crave with the woodgrain are dynamic and dramatic. It demonstrates the end result of combining two design disciplines, as well as juxtaposing craftsmanship and new technologies in woodworking.

People often value traditional handcraft techniques more in terms of woodworking, blacksmith, etc, because it takes more time, and master skills can evoke the spirits the materials, thus the end results are most likely finer than computerized ones. However, as one of the creators, Gareth Neal mentioned, “Subverting its appearance to dramatic extremes, mimicking traditional carving technique. I hope the pieces will embed the design with a sense of the handmade through the arm of a robot, questioning the viewer’s perceptions of craft and the handmade.” Fine craftsmanships always use different kinds of tools to complete their work. So the question is, what if computer modeling and digital carving technique become part of the tools? Do we value less the work because it has a computer involved or because the computer did most of the work? What do you think? Comment below.

Photo by Petr Kerijci