Rube Goldberg machines are always fascinating, but not too many people have thought about mixing one with architecture, and moreover, all this done via projectors. Until now, that is.
The following project is the work of Josh Van Praag, who was contracted by Alys Beach to improve the aspect of his house in a way as unique as possible. It should be noted that this project was not made for the sake of entertainment, but it was instead submitted as an entry at the Digital Graffiti festival. Even though this has been Josh Van Praag’s first ever such project, since he is mainly a commercial artist, many would say that he did quite an excellent job.
Van Praag describes the mechanism that is projected on a side of the house: “The ball goes up the conveyor belt, then rolls down a spiral ramp. As it rolls down that ramp, it triggers 3 sprockets.The first sprocket flips a series of panels to reveal grass, the second sprocket turns on sprinklers to water the grass, and the third sprocket unfolds a tube with these windmill devices over the middle roof of the house.
The water from the sprinklers fills the grass space and eventually overflows into the tube at the top. The water then turns these windmills that blow away the lower-left portion of the house, to reveal the Alys Beach logo. A single long shingle then blows away on the left roof above the logo. Little beach balls then spill out of this crack and rain down over the logo area like confetti for a big ta-dah moment. (I’m mostly a commercial artist, the logo reveal at the end comes naturally to me).”
“Goldberg” Digital Graffiti 2012 from Josh Van Praag on Vimeo.
Considering that he turned over the project in just 2 weeks, the result is nothing short of impressive. The above video might probably be more edifying that the artist’s description, since it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words and a video… oh, well, a video is made of thousands of pictures. The projection was made using Millumin for Mac and Van Praag cannot say enough kind words about the creator of this piece of software. Not only the software seemed to be worth a mention, but also the fact that Philippe Chaurand, the creator of Millumin offered prompt support, whenever required.
If you liked this post, please check this record-breaking Goldberg device and the Rube Goldberg suitcase postcard maker.
