Mesophases_Small

CONSTRUCTING TEXTILES 

COMPUTATION | SOFT FORMWORKS 

Iowa State University | 2019 

MESOPHASES

Research Question 

How can a cross-dsciplinary team of design students use textiles, soft formworks, 

and computational design to create a large scale installation? How can the history 

and constraints of the site, Mainframe Studios, inspire this installation? 

Premise 

“The best way to appreciate the merits and consequences of being digital is to 

reflect on the differences between bits and atoms.” Nicholas Negroponte, Founder 

MIT Media Lab 

Technology and design are cultural undertakings. The Fabricating Potentials 

studio arc pursues a view of technology that includes not only the ‘how’ (skills 

and techniques) of computational design but also the ‘why’ (processes and 

impacts). This studio examines the relationships between technical advances in 

computational design (bits) and the consequences of these advancements upon 

the built environment (atoms). 

To this end, twenty-two students from Iowa State University College of Design 

explored the intersection of computation, textiles, and construction. Students 

leveraged the tools of the ISU Computation & Construction Lab to fabricate textile 

formwork for plaster casting. Supporting Iowa State University’s land-grant mission, 

the CCL works to connect developments in computation to the challenges of 

construction: through teaching, research, and outreach. Beyond campus borders 

the CCL leverages digital fabrication as a tool of public engagement with nonprofit 

organizations and small towns in Iowa. 

In groups of five to six people, students designed and constructed installations 

that explore the potential of custom textile formwork for plaster. Through iterative 

prototyping, full-scale mock ups, computational studies, and digital fabrication 

students examined the potential of integrating computation and textiles into 

construction practice. 

Keywords 

Textile Art | Soft Formworks | Mainframe Studios | Mainframe Computers | Des 

Moines | Iowa State University | College of Design 

MESOPHASES | Studio 

2 | Constructing Textiles | Spring 2019

Tyler Beers 

Architecture | 2020 

Ayla Hendrickson 


Shannon Burkle 

Interior Design | 2019 

Seth Jenkins 


Leray Chen 


Nathaniel Jones 


Riley Dunn 

Landscape Arcitecture | 2019 

Claire Kilfoyl 

Industrial Design | 2020 

Alex Dutoit 


Jessie Laughridge 


Eric Heckman 


Brandon Lewis 


MESOPHASES | Design Team 


Michael McKinney 


Linsey Schminke 


Dan Nutt 

Art & Visual Culture | 2021 

Katelyn Schmitt 


James Patterson 

Interdisciplinary Design | 2019 

Ian Spadin 


Charlie Rueb 

Landscape Architecture | 2019 

Casey White 


Nathan Sands 


Shelby Doyle 

Asst. Prof. | Architecture 

Cassie Schilling 

Landscape Architecture | 2019 

Olivia Valentine 

Asst. Prof. | Art & Visual Culture

MESOPHASES | Overview 


OVERVIEW 

DESIGN INTRODUCTION 

Precedent Studies | Mainframe Studio 

Iowa State University | Mainframe Studio 

8 

DESIGN EXPLORATION 

Plaster Casting | Kudless Workshop | Fologram Workshop 

DESIGN PROPOSALS 

Catena | Link | Reef 

FINAL DESIGN 

Collaborative Design Build | Mesophases 

DESIGN COMPONENTS 

Collaborative Design Build | Mesophases 

DESIGN CONSTRUCTION 

On-Site Construction | Process 

FINAL INSTALLATION 

Mesophases 

FINAL REVEAL 

Final Review | Public Showcase 

16 

44 

58 

64 

74 

82 

92

MESOPHASES | Design Introduction 


Mainframe Studios has been defined, in part, by transition and evolution. Once a 

home for the computing device it gets its name from, it now houses artists working 

in a wide range of disciplines. Mesophases, an installation created by a similarly 

multidisciplinary group of students from Iowa State University, speaks to the shifting 

nature of the space. 

The name is the first hint: a mesophase is a state of matter between liquid and solid, 

the result not entirely clear. The forms captured in plaster and textile each capture a 

different form of this transition. The form enveloping the structural column, evoking 

coral reefs, is coated in a thin layer of plaster to allow for a changing amount of 

light penetration. The porous walls inside of each planter gesture towards the 

rigidity and rectilinear nature of computing bays while using textiles to change the 

expected form. The large knits, emerging from plaster columns, show both ends of 

the transformation: nearly untouched yarn anchored to a nearly solid plaster base. 

Mesophases is, ultimately, about transformation. It is only fitting that it seeks to 

change a space that is defined by similar evolution.

MISSION & VISION 

Site 

Mainframe Studios is located in the old Century Link building downtown Des 

Moines. 

Mission 

Mainframe Studios is a 501(c)3 whose mission is to provide permanent affordable 

workspace to artists of all disciplines 

Vision 

Transform Central Iowa’s art scene by creating a financially self-sustaining economic 

and cultural driver, serving as a national model that stands the test of time 

Students 

This collaboration was possible because the Iowa State University College of Design 

is one of the most comprehensive design colleges in the country: home to seven 

departments, fostering opportunities for unique multidisciplinary collaborations. 

Social Media 

@isu_CCL | @arch.iastate | @ISUcollegeofdesign | @AVC.ISU 


REVEAL INSTALLATION CONSTRUCTION COMPONENTS FINAL DESIGN PROPOSALS EXPLORATION INTRODUCTION

MAINFRAME STUDIO 

2ND FLOOR 

(CLOSED) 

TRANSLUCENT SKYLIGHTS 

3RD FLOOR 

(CLOSED) 

EGRESS EGRESS 

4’ CIRCULAR 

PLANTERS 

METHODIST DRIVE 

TWO EXTERIOR 

MEANS OF EGRESS 

EGRESS RESTRICTS 

THE BUILD AREA 

TOTAL BUDGET OF $3,000 

THERE ARE FOUR UNUSED 

CONCRETE PLANTERS THE CLIENT 

WAS INTERESTED IN USING 

WE ARE ALLOWED TO 

DRILL INTO THE WALL 

EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE 

TRANSPORTED BY A UNIVERSITY 

VEHICLE OR TRAILER 

NO LIFT ON SITE 

LIMITED AMOUNT OF OUTLETS 

ON THE WALLS 


INSTALLATION 

EGRESS 

EGRESS 

METHODIST DRIVE 

FOOD 

SERVICE 

CARTOONS 

LETTERPRESS 

DOCK 

BUILT IN 1976 AS A CENTURYLINK COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY 

NOW AN ADAPTIVE REUSE FOR ARTIST STUDIOS IN DOWNTOWN DES MOINES 

SEEKS TO MAKE SURE ARTISTS DON’T GET PRICED OUT OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD 

LOWER, 1ST AND 4TH LEVELS HAVE BEEN RENOVATED 

2ND AND 3RD LEVELS ARE IN THE PROCESS 

OUR SPACE IS IN THE SOUTHWEST ATRIUM ON THE 1ST FLOOR 

IOWA METHODIST MEDICAL CENTER 

EVENT SPACE 

OFFICE 

CONFERENCE 

ROOM 

STONEWORK 

EXIBIT 

RADIO 

NONPROFIT 

STATION 

SCREEN PRINTING 

DANCE 

DANCE 

DES MOINES RIVER 

DOWNTOWN DES MOINES 

1ST FLOOR PLAN 

KEOSAUQUA WAY 

MUSIC 

RECORD LABEL 

FASHION 


CURATION & DISPLAY 

Mesophases’ exhibition showcases a range of explorations - 

in process and material - from the course of the semester. The 

pieces are on display shelving focused on the eastern wall 

of the atrium; process work, such as the cast panels jig and 

balloon cast, is on the western wall. This was done in response 

to the space’s current and future use: the wall will be used to 

showcase donors and demanded to be mostly untouched. 

The shelving used on the eastern wall is made from 3/4” 

plywood sheets and an acrylic top. The units vary in height 

and light quality in order to offer a variety of perspectives on 

the objects and their textures. In addition to creating space for 

objects and the portfolio, the shelving units’ varying heights 

help frame posters that detail more information about the 

design process. 

Mesophase(s) 

an intermediate state of matter between liquid and 

solid 



MESOPHASES | Design Exploration 


The first design explorations involved plaster casting into found textiles, the 

results of which students studied through photography, hand drawing, and digital 

modeling. Students also learned how to knit, sew, crochet, and weave by hand in 

order to design and produce the first prototypes for the installation. In addition 

to investigating the unique texture and form of casting into textiles, as well as 

understanding its associated obstacles and limitations, this exploration allowed 

students to develop both the handicraft and digital skills necessary to realize the 

project.

PRECEDENT | CROCHET CORAL REEF 

Crochet Coral Reefproject is created and curated by 

Christine Wertheim and Margaret Wertheim of the Institute 

ForFiguring. Two Australian-born twin-sisters presented us an 

interplay between nature, mathematics and interdisciplinary 

construction. It is also an aspiring response to the decaying 

of coral reef caused by global warming.The sisters created 

a community-based work of large-scale installation with 

more than 10,000 people contributing to this on-going 

collaboration.The form of the crochet knit is known as 

“hyperbolic crochet” and it was discovered in 1997 by 

Cornell University mathematician Dr. Daina Taimina. The 

Wertheim sisters adopted the technique and reinvented it 

into new ways to model bizarre sea animal-like forms that 

was curated in the exhibitions we see today.In an agreement 

with our early design concept for the Reef,theart installation is 

meantto be designed and createdcollaborativelyby students 

across multiple majors at Iowa State University. The Reef 

reimages its organic form and persistsan algorithmic rhythm. 

The materials mimiccoral,a symbioticentity,where the soft 

living tissues grow and perish, and later consolidate into a 

permanent product. The Reef isa point of interest where 

art and technologymanifest through material bonding and 

internal processes that are involved. 


GAIA MOTHER TREE | PRECEDENT 

Created in 2018, Gaia Mother Tree, a monumental installation 

that aims to bring the spirit of the amazonian rainforest 

inside zurich’s central station. organized by the fondation 

beyeler, the project sees a twenty-meter high sculpture 

extending right up to the ceiling of the station concourse. 

its see-through structure is made of brightly colored handknotted 

cotton strips and resembles a majestic tree. neto’s 

immersive installation functions as a meeting place and a 

venue for interaction and meditation. shaped like the crown 

of a tree, the upper part of the work covers the ceiling of the 

station while at the base of the tree visitors can find a space 

to linger and rests on seats arranged in a circle. to complete 

the experience, drop-shaped elements hanging from the 

branches are filled with aromatic spices and dried leaves. 


PRECEDENT | ALLEGORY 

Created by Janet Echelman, the voluminous form is composed 

of custom-blended twines and incorporates panels crafted 

by hand merged with machine-knotted portions. For 

coloring, Echelman engages the human mind’s tendency to 

unconsciously join separate like-colored forms together. The 

viewer’s eye connects between the blue and green forms, 

which interplay with their pale yellow counterparts, the color 

of sunlight. 

The sculpture is designed to respond to and engage with 

its surroundings, acknowledging the importance of the role 

of the spectator as the trigger for interactivity. Sensors near 

the artwork pick up the physical movement of spectators, 

activating specially programmed spotlights that cast shadow 

drawings onto surrounding walls. These shadows layer atop 

a silhouette wall painting that follows the parabolic curves of 

the suspended sculpture. 

The title “Allegory” references the Greek philosopher Plato’s 

classic work. His Allegory of the Cave tells the story of people 

who lived chained inside a cave facing a blank wall, with a 

fiery light behind them. The shadow shapes they see on 

the wall are merely projections, but it is the prisoners’ entire 

understanding of reality. 

Echelman’s work asks viewers to question what they see in 

front of them – a dialogue between object and viewer, light 

and shadow, reality and projection. 


THE KNITTING MACHINE | PRECEDENT 

Created in 2005, the Knitting Machine is a functional 

Installation with Acrylic Felt and Excavators. 

Shown in its final state, the installation took place over the 

period of a week, during which time the design team knit 

the entire flag (approx. 500 stitches) with the machines. The 

project examines knitting at a vast scale, using traditional 

technique with much larger tools. The Knitting Machine 

combines the feminized domestic American tradition of 

knitting with the grandiose gesture of construction usually 

associated with masculine labor. The Knitting Machine 

challenges familiar notions of labor and production, while 

expressing a complex understanding of patriotism. 

The project was made possible with the support of John 

Deere, Schmidt Equipment, Foss Engineered Non-Woven 

Textiles, National Grid, Mass MoCA, and The Steel Yard, 

Providence. 


TEXTILE EXPLORATION 


TEXTILE SCANNING 


TEXTILE CASTING 


TEXTILE CASTING 


CROCHETING EXPLORATION 


KNITTING EXPLORATION 


SEWING EXPLORATION 


WEAVING EXPLORATION 


DIGITAL MODELING ORTHOGRAPHICS 

Plan View 

Right View 

Front View 

Rendered Perspective View 

Plan View 

Right View 

Front View 

Rendered Perspective View 


3-D PRINTING 


PUNCH CARD KNITTING 





ANDREW KUDLESS WORKSHOP 

In 2009, Andrew Kudless, founder of the interdisciplinary 

design studio Matsys and architecture professor at California 

College of the Arts, developed a modular wall system for 

an installation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

This wall system, dubbed P_Wall, is constructed via casting 

plaster into parametrically modified soft formwork, resulting 

in a field of cloudlike forms. For three days in February, 2019, 

Andrew Kudless taught the physical and digital components 

of this technique in an intensive workshop, where teams of 

students fabricated their own molds after Kudless’ design. 

After building wooden frames that pinched the formwork 

fabric into place, students simulated the physics of the 

molds in Rhino software with the assistance of Grasshopper 

programming and Kangaroo simulations. These simulations 

informed the arrangement of pressure points created by 

wooden dowels, wires, and/or smocking. Students then 

poured a plaster/ fiberglass mixture into the resulting mold 

boxes. The final casts appear soft and organic in contrast to 

their rigid materiality and computational design, a revealing 

tension that would inspire the Mesophases installation. 



ANDREW KUDLESS WORKSHOP 



FOLOGRAM WORKSHOP 

Several workshops informed the design and fabrication of 

Mesophases. The first workshop was conducted over four 

afternoon studio sessions with Construction Engineering 

students taught by Clyff Pleimesser. This workshop 

encouraged students to challenge each other to develop 

practical designs and construction techniques for bold, 

unconventional projects. 

The second workshop involved exploring the potential 

of augmented reality in construction with Hololens, an 

augmented-reality headset. Gwyllim Jahn, CCO at Fologram, 

the company behind Hololens, joined the Fabricating 

Potentials studio at Iowa State to teach them about Fologram’s 

capabilities and how technology can help the studio design 

proposals. Gwyllim combined the original design of the 

hanging knits with his own script to create a series of wires 

that would provide a formwork. 

The Hololenses were used to show the desired shape of 

the wire prior to fabrication, since each piece of wire and 

angle of the bend were unique. The bent pieces were then 

attached using zip ties, which made it easy to assemble and 

disassemble for use as removable formwork. The Hololenses 

were also brought to Mainframe so that the projects could be 

seen to scale in the space. 



FOLOGRAM WORKSHOP 



MESOPHASES | Design Proposals 


Mainframe Studios has evolved from its origins as a data center to a community 

arts hub driven by the mission of providing affordable studio space to the artists 

of Des Moines. From its digital beginnings to its collaborative present, innovation 

and connection have animated the history of this space. With this same spirit, 

interdisciplinary teams of design students from Iowa State University developed 

a series of proposals for an installation in the building’s atrium. This installation 

utilizes craft and construction techniques developed specifically from studying 

textile construction and plaster casting. Each proposal capitalizes on a specific 

strategy; CATENA uses sewn fabric molds to create modules for a cast, curvaceous, 

and perforated wall; LINK envelops the space with hand-crafted nets; REEF 

creates an immersive environment from knit structures made rigid by plaster. The 

development of these proposals would provide the bases with which to synthesize 

the final proposal: MESOPHASES. 

In the same way that community and disparate disciplines sustain Mainframe 

Studios, Mesophases brings together that which are supposedly in opposition – 

plaster and textiles, strings and walls, organic growth and modular forms – and 

reveals how those differences strengthen each other.

CATENA 

In the 1970s, Charles Herbert designed both the College of Design in Ames, 

Iowa and a data center to house mainframe computers in Des Moines. While the 

College of Design still maintains its original function, the latter has transformed 

into a community arts center. Mainframe Studio provides affordable maker space 

for artists working in a broad range of media: woodworking, glass blowing, 

photography, letter pressing, game development, painting, dance, etc. In the same 

way that the original building’s fortress-like walls have been perforated to allow light 

in and make a more inviting space for artists, the modular wall system of Catena 

forms semi-opaque screens rather than solid barriers. 

Fabrics are soft: they are objects and planes used for clothing and expression. 

Concrete and plaster are supportive and resilient: they are used to support people, 

hold up objects, and strengthen buildings. The bulging plaster forms of Catena are 

achieved by channeling liquid plaster through a sewn fabric formwork, the pattern 

of which is generated parametrically. Catena is an example of how seemingly 

incongruous materials and purposes can coexist and bolster each other and enrich 

the human experience, in the process challenging preconceived notions of how 

people, purposes, and materials can respond to one another. 



PAGE CONTENT TITLE 




LINK 

Through the use of plaster and textiles, Link will celebrate the collision of 

seemingly disparate materials to create a space that removes the viewer from 

the experience of everyday. This installation will envelop Mainframe Studio’s 

current and potential residents – studio artists, visitors, and pedestrians alike - 

through a series of double-curved knit textiles. In this way, it will highlight physical, 

metaphorical and temporal space by physically changing how the lobby is 

occupied. Link will create something for the communities that work in and around 

Mainframe Studios to maneuver through and in doing so gesture towards the 

site’s past, present, and potential futures. 

The form of the installation, a series of suspended and stretched knit textiles 

dipped in plaster, first recalls the wiring of the building’s original mainframe 

computers. This form simultaneously points towards what Mainframe Studios is 

today: a space that facilitates connections, whether between an artist and their 

peers, the public and art, or artists and the public. Just as the double-curved 

forms would not be stable if their support systems were weakened – if the plaster 

were thinner, if the lateral strings were cut – the institution of Mainframe Studios, 

the artists it houses, and the public it supports are all intertwined. 

The space created by Link’s knit textiles is dynamic and fluid, but simultaneously 

steady and consistent, as though a moment were suspended and captured. The 

installation celebrates both the mutability that Mainframe Studios enables and the 

support that it represents. It is each element of a community’s artistic hub dipped 

in plaster and laid bare. Link captures that fluidity and structure – of artistic energy, 

of unhindered motion, of mutual trust and enrichment – and renders it indelible. 





REEF 

Reef addresses the relationship that artist’s spaces have with their surrounding 

communities by making the mutual results and benefits – organic growth, change, 

and redefinition – physical through a series of knit planes and plaster. 

In cities around the United States, artist space is a valuable commodity. Too often 

artists are priced out of their cities and workspaces, despite the fact that these 

spaces provide a tangible social utility to the surrounding community. 

Coral reef structures hold together the ocean ecosystem by forming habitats for an 

immense variety of plant and animal species. Central to the process of coral reef 

formation is accretion and decay. Like coral reefs, art spaces such as Mainframe 

Studios create the infrastructure to hold together communities, promote change, 

and frame diverse dialogues. 

In support of these goals, the Reef installation evokes the form and function of 

coral reefs by using a combination of yarn and plaster. Multiple knit planes will be 

attached together to create a large form reminiscent of coral structures.Its location 

– centered around a structural column – reflects the way that art has embraced the 

existing building, and its textures – a coating of plaster in some places, exposed 

textiles at others – reflects the stability and flexibility Mainframe Studios affords 

its artists. The installation represents and exists as a dialogue between art and 

architecture that Mainframe Studios enables. Much in the way that dedicated 

maker-spaces augment their surrounding communities, Reef serves to augment 

the space it inhabits. Reef renders physical the ways that Mainframe Studios, its 

artists, and its community push each other forward. 





MESOPHASES | Final Design 


NARRATIVE 

Mainframe Studios was originally intended to be a space for computing but has 

since evolved into a space to house artists. Each form that the space has taken 

has been about connections, whether digital, physical, or communal. Mesophases, 

an installation by an interdisciplinary studio at Iowa State University, addresses the 

connections that drive Mainframe Studios. 

This is achieved through plaster and textiles; differing applications of the two speak 

to different parts of the studio’s story. The column in the center of the atrium has 

been wrapped in a piece designed to evoke the form and community-building 

aspects of coral reefs. The large knits underline the interconnected nature of the 

building’s residents, management, and community. The walls inside each planter 

take the modularity of a computer bay but make it porous and permeable. 

Just as Mainframe Studios brings together a range of disciplines under one roof, 

Mesophases combines several material applications to underline their connections. 

Without the walls, the large knits would have nothing to emerge from; without the 

coral column, the installation might be more contained than the building’s artistic 

community is. In the same way that Mainframe Studios is strengthened by its 

variety of disciplines, this proposal brings together things that are supposedly in 

opposition – plaster and textiles, strings and walls, organic growth and modular 

forms – and reveals how their differences strengthen each other.

UNIVERSAL CONCEPT 

Mesophases are intermediate states of matter, embodying 

flexibility and malleability by taking many forms and definitions. 

In this interdisciplinary studio, students discovered boundless 

opportunities in form and texture by forging a relationship 

between the rigidity of plaster and the expressiveness 

of textiles. This intermediate state not only describes the 

medium of the project but the site that it is set. Space, and 

the function of said space, adapts and evolves to whatever 

is placed within it. We wanted to utilize the fascinating 

qualities of different combinations of plaster and textiles to 

create an experience that draws people into the atrium space 

of Mainframe Studios. Mainframe Studios connects the 

practitioners of many different artistic disciplines to the wider 

Des Moines community. In order to celebrate and represent 

this community, this installation combines three Mesophases 

of plaster and textile, respectively titled Catena, Link and Reef, 

to create one holistic experience for all. 





MESOPHASES | Design Components 


PLASTER WALL 

The inspiration of the plaster walls is rooted in the past of the building and its 

occupants. The building’s first purpose was housing for mainframe computers. 

The installation pays homage to this history by including modular wall designs with 

large linear and round voids to represent circuitry. It also uses a mesh to reinforce 

the plaster and fill the voids with even more visual networks. These walls occupy 

the planters of the lobby, which are original to the building and became derelict 

when Mainframe Computers left. They became an anchor in the design: each 

contains four of these wall modules, positioned like a diamond to echo the form 

of the planters outside. They also anchor the hanging knits, with the walls wrapping 

around the beginning of the knit portion of the installation. 


MEASURE FABRIC TO 

80” X 36”AND MESH TO 

36” X 44” 

SEW PATTERN 

AND EDGES 

ADD IN DOWELS AND WAIT 

UNTIL MIXTURE HARDENS 

FOLD FABRIC OVER 

MESH 

USE STAPLE GUN TO 

HANG FABRIC TO FRAME 

REMOVE FABRIC 

CAST FROM FRAME 

PIN DOWN EDGES 

TO HOLD IN PLACE 

CLAMP THE EDGES 

CUT SEAMS TO 

RELEASE CAST 

FROM FABRIC 


MARK OUT GRID 

MIX 

PLASTER 

ROTATE CAST 

SKETCH OUT 

PATTERN 

POUR MIXTURE OF 3 

GALLONS OF WATER 

AND .75 BAG PLASTER 

PLACE CAST INTO 

BASE USING DOWELS 

AND DRILLED HOLES 


PANEL SIMULATION | GRASSHOPPER 

Panels were generated by an algorithm known as Wave Function Collapse, which 

was then implemented using Processing 3. The algorithm works using a grid of 

“slots” and a list of “modules” that can fit into each slot, along with rules on what 

modules are allowed to neighbor each other. The algorithm then keeps a list of 

every possible module that can go in every slot, and eliminating modules from this 

list by analyzing the possible modules in each slot’s neighbors. The user can also 

directly choose what module fits into a particular slot, which causes the algorithm to 

update surrounding slots to remove what modules no longer fit there. 

The resulting patterns were then brought into Rhino and inflated using Kangaroo, 

a Grasshopper plugin that simulates physics. This produced a mesh that roughly 

reflected how the pattern would look when sewn and cast. Much of this process was 

borrowed from the Kudless workshop. 



HANGING KNITS 

The hanging knits are inspired by the network between art, technology, and the 

community. The knits are anchored into the cast plaster columns inside each planter 

and stretch to various points on the walls and beams. The colors of the knits are 

coral and white, linking the coral column and the white plaster modules together, 

a physical representation of the connections between technology, artists, and the 

community beyond. While the building is built like a concrete fortress, the knits 

represent the space’s – and Mainframe Studios’ – flexibility and interconnectedness. 


USE A CONSTRUCTED 20’ LOOM WITH PVC PIPE, 

SPACED 6” APART, TO KNIT THREE YARN BUNDLES 

TOGETHER 

ANCHOR FULLY KNIT SURFACE 

INTO CASTED COLUMN 

PLACE KNIT AND ANCHOR IN THE 

CENTER OF PLASTER WALL ASSEM- 

BLY. STRETCH KNIT TO POINTS ON 

THE ATRIUM WALLS. 


CORAL COLUMN 

Just as the plaster walls and hanging knits engage with the atrium’s planters, the knit 

in the center uses the atrium’s structural column as an anchor and asset. The piece 

is inspired by the connections that Mainframe Studios affords its artists and the 

community at large, taking formal inspiration from coral reefs. This form is achieved 

with panels of handmade knit textiles and balloons: the balloons form the bulbous 

shape of the piece and the plaster gives it structural integrity. In the same way that 

populations develop in underwater colonies, Mainframe has formed and nurtured 

an artistic community in Des Moines to flourish. 


USE KNITTING MACHINE TO 

PRODUCE ”X#” OF FABRIC 

USE BALLOONS TO INFLATE 

THE SHAPE AND THEN COAT 

THE FABRIC IN PLASTER 

HAND KNIT 5 FABRIC SHEETS TOGETHER 

MOVE DRIED STRUCTURE UP AND 

SUPPORT USING RATCHET STRAP 

RUBBER BACKED- 

RATCHET STRAP 

FABRIC FITS UNDER 

REPEAT AND ASSEMBLE THE SECTIONS 


MESOPHASES | Design Construction 


Construction of Mesophases took place in both our studio in Ames and on-site at 

Mainframe Studios. 

The plaster panels began as templates, made of three layers of fabric, sewn 

together, which were then placed into a wooden framework to aid the casting 

process. Once mostly dry, the outer layers of fabric were peeled off the plaster form, 

but the central layer of mesh was left intact. Each of these panels were cast with two 

wooden dowels extruding at the bottom to allow for easy and strong installation 

within the planters. 

The hanging knits were made prior to installation in Mainframe Studios. Four - 20’ 

looms were created using 2x4s and 2” PVC pipes cut to 4 inches in length. This 

gave the desired gauge and helped maintain consistency. They were all hand knit 

using a combination of 3 one-pound spools of yarn - some all white and some 

a combination of white and coral. Each knit took around 6 hours on average to 

complete. The knits are installed using toggle bolts in the wall and tensioned to the 

floor using plaster cylinders which were cast within Sono tubes. 

The knit panels used on the structural column were made using knitting machines. 

They were sewn together on site, secured in place using ratchet straps, and filled 

with balloons to create a desired form. Once the whole column was prepared, 

plaster was painted on from top to bottom, with the bottom given a thicker coating 

for support. 

Lastly, a small team designed an exhibit to showcase the process work that was 

behind this final design.







MESOPHASES | Final Installation 


The final installation of Mesophases took place in Des Moines at Mainframe Studios. 

With a combiniation of a central plastered, coral knit column, hanging knit 

membranes, undulating plaster walls, recycled plaster foundation, and a complete 

exhibition housing the site model and previous examples of work, the installation 

process was completed. 

The atrium space was cleaned and prepped for the final review.









MESOPHASES | Final Reveal 


Upon the completion of the Mesophases installation, the project’s final review was 

held within the Mainframe Studio Gallery. After completion of the review session, 

the installation was opened to the public. 

Mesophases will remain house within the Mainframe Studio atrium throughout the 

summer of 2019.



SITE MODEL 


EXHIBITION DISPLAY

Mesophases_Small

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