The first project in the course asks students to generate an ‘imaginary landscape’ (12000 feet x 9000 feet) by first crumpling large sheets of paper so that several landform signatures emerge. After several interations, this paper landform is translated into a clay modelso that landform adheres to the same topographic rules as real environments. Following this, students establish a spot level grid survey from which they generate contours.
Students then 3D scan their clay models using photogrammetry techniques to develop a high resolution digital model from which contours are generated. Using these high-res contours, two areas are selected for manipulation where the students create points of flatness, verticality, movement, or landart. These two locations are then 3D printed, bringing the exploration in a full circle to a three dimensional form.