David Umemoto is an architect who creates concrete architectural sculptures.
His work, he explains, is a highly codified and rigorous construction of an extensive modular system where each element can be added or subtracted to give place to a new unique work.
The expandable modular system of creation is based on the theory that there is a universal order. Molecules, cycles, ecosystems, the order is the norm and chaos an accident. Everything is connected, organized and structured, it is only a matter of place, time and scale. Thus, we can talk of a cellular rather than modular system, where the modular elements can be interchanged, but also transformed. They obey rules in a rigid frame but with an organic development. His work is therefore an exploration of patterns and codes sometimes obvious, sometimes obscure, that govern our environment. (Socks translation)
Here follow a series of photographs showing the process and the drawings, the final pieces and their compositions.
The main method for achieving the concrete parts is similar to that of the formwork used on construction sites. The molds are created directly in negative without passing through the positive step. So, the parts are thought in positive but made negative. The complexity increases rapidly as soon as the geometry complicates a bit. Most of the time, the molds are made of perishable materials (cardboard, foam core, polystyrene) and, therefore, destroyed during demolding. Each piece, therefore, is unique. (Socks translation)
All images © David Umemoto
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