Construction booklet - portfolio

ev·er·ie /rĕʹvə-rē/ n.
1 A state of being pleasantly lost in one’s thoughts; a daydream.
2 Music An instrumental piece suggesting a dreamy or musing state.
Vasiliki Souti, Fabricate Project

Introduction
Reverie is a listening chamber dedicated to the
song “Echoes” by Pink Floyd. Situated in the
Rochdale canal, at a corner where the industrial
landscape meets nature, it features a floatation
tank which resembles the song’s “underwater”
feeling. The chamber’s shape arises from
the location itself, as it was inspired by graffiti
observed on site, and, thus, is embodied by the
area, rather than being plain decoration. It consists
of a glass geodesic dome, surrounded by a
wooden, curved “skin”. The floatation tank aims
to relieve stress, provide relaxation and enhance
the listener’s senses for an optimum listening
experience.

The model

Step 1: Constructing a paper model of the dome
What you’ll need:
Paper, Glue, Scissors
• Cut 10 triangles with dimensions of 2.94 x 2.94 x 2.94
cm.
• Cut 30 triangles with dimensions of 2.59 x 2.59 x 2.94
cm.
Note: Before cutting them, make sure you leave a 0.5 cm
margin on each side and, once cut, fold it in. This will
help in gluing the triangles together.
Line A: 2.59 cm
Line B: 2.94 cm
The final model should look like this:
• Once you have cut all the pieces, start gluing them together
at the folded edges, following the plan and section
provided below.
Note: Blue Line=2.94 cm, Red Line=2.59cm

Step 2: Constructing the dome out of ABS acrylic strips
What you’ll need:
10 2.4x0.5x250 mm ABS acrylic strips, Plastic weld, paper
model from Step 1, black acrylic paint, brush
• Start by making the 5 triangles at the top and, using the
plastic weld, glue them together with the paper model as a
guide, forming a pentagon.
Note: The sides of two adjacent triangles form a double line.
This is only applied to the first five triangles, to indicate that
they are windows, in contrast to the rest of the glass triangles.
• Once the dome is constructed, paint both the inside
and outside black.
• Continue constructing the dome around the paper model
now using a single line for the rest of the triangle sides.

Step 3: Constructing the main structure of the chamber
What you’ll need:
Air-drying clay, craft knife (or other pointy object), acrylic
paint in white and burnt sienna, brush, medium sandpaper
sheet, polyfilla, butter knife or spatula
• Cut the following pieces out of the mesh:
- 2 rectangles with dimensions of 10cm x 5 cm
- 2 triangles (as seen in photo below) with a height of
16 cm and width of 15 cm
• Cover both sides of the mesh in a thin sheet of clay.
• Start putting the parts together and use additional small
pieces of clay-covered mesh where needed. The chamber’s
perimeter (excluding the entrance corridor) should
be 34 cm.
• Leave the clay to dry overnight.
• Start putting the parts together and use small pieces
of clay-covered mesh where needed. The chamber’s
perimeter (excluding the entrance corridor)
should be 34 cm.
• Leave the clay to dry overnight.

• Using a butter knife, apply a coat of polyfilla in small
sections, and before it dries, score the wood texture pattern
(as seen below). Once you have covered the exterior,
repeat the procedure on the upper half of the chamber’s
interior (the parts that will be visible after the dome has
been placed).
• Leave the chamber to dry. At this stage you could also
correct any imperfections of its shape by adding clay.
• Sand both the interior and exterior to achieve smoother
surfaces and clean the dust using a damp cloth.
• Mix white and burnt sienna in equal quantities and
apply a coat of paint throughout. Before it dries paint
some darker strokes using burnt sienna to achieve a more
realistic resemblance to wood.
• Using thin sheets of
clay make the supports
for the dome and after
they have dried paint
them in the same mix of
white and burnt sienna.

Step 4: Constructing the context
What you’ll need:
2 light coloured wood sheets with dimensions of 31 x 17.5
x 0.3 cm (sheet 1) and 21.5 x 12.5 x 1.7 cm (sheet 2), 1
darker coloured sheet with dimensions of 33.5 x 21.5 x
0.9 cm (sheet 3), one clear acrylic sheet with dimensions
of 21.5 x 21 x 0.4 cm (sheet 4), bandsaw, disk sander,
drum sander, glue
• Sheet 1: Draw a semicircle with a diameter of 20.2
cm 1.5 cm off the right 17.5 cm side. Use the bandsaw
to remove as much material possible from the inside of
the semicircle. Then use the drum sander to remove the
remaining material.
• Sheet 2: At the disk sander, round the corners of the left
21.5 cm side
• Sheet 3: At the disk sander, round the corners of the left
21.5 cm side
Sheet 3
Sheet 2
Sheet 1

• Glue Sheet 2 on top of Sheet 3. Once the glue has dried
sand the left rounded side to even any differences between
the two sheets
• Carefully apply some glue on the left side of Sheet 4
and glue it on the right side of Sheet 2 (placed on top of
Sheet 3).
Note: Be careful not to apply any glue on Sheet 3 because
it will be visible through the clear acrylic.
• Glue Sheet 1 at a right angle to sheet 3, as seen in the
picture below

Step 5: Constructing the floatation tank
What you’ll need:
Clear plastic lid with a diameter of 9 cm and height of 2.5
cm, polyfilla, gelatin, blue food colouring, clay, LED tea
candle
• Start with a small amount of clay and shape it to a five
pointed “star” shape. Once you have formed the head,
hands and legs arrange them into a “floating” position and
add a bit of definition to the areas where the main muscles
are supposed to be. Leave the clay to dry overnight.
• Use a craft knife and/or scissors to cut a hole in
the middle of the lid big enough for the LED of the
candle to go through.

• Apply some polyfilla to the base of the lid, where it
meets the candle. Let it dry for at least 3 hours.
• Make 4 rectangular shapes out of clay and with dimensions
of 3 x 1 x 0.7 cm. Place them on top of each other
to make the stairs that lead into the floatation tank.
• Soak the gelatin in cold water for 5-10 minutes. Fill a
pan with water, put the gelatin into a bowl with 100 ml of
water and bring it up to a slow simmer. When the gelatin
dissolves, add a few drops of blue food colouring.
• Pour the mixture in the lid and place in the fridge for at
least 6 hours.
• Place the clay figure on top of the jelly.
• Place the floatation tank inside the chamber.

Other techniques
• Although in the guide polyfilla is
said to be used to place the lid on
top of the candle, blu tack was used
instead due to lack of time for the
polyfilla to dry. It had to be repeated
a lot of times in order to prevent
leaks.
• Prior to constructing the dome
with acrylic strips, the technique of
soldering was employed. However,
it would be extremely difficult to use
the paper model as a guide without
burning it.
Precedent
• A geodesic dome calculator found
at http://geo-dome.co.uk/2v_tool.asp
was used for precise measurements.
Inspiration in curvy clay shapes:
• Andre Bloc’s clay sculptures/models.
(I)
• Sophie-Elizabeth Thompson’s clay
art works that mimic forms of the
human body. (II)
Image sources:
(I): http://www.penccil.com/gallery.
php?p=248629112578
(II): http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/
sophieelizabeth-thompson
(I)
(II)