Building a Mathematical Hanging Sculpture in an Hour

Sculptor George W. Hart recently designed and constructed two five-fold symmetrical sculptures with his “Crystal Flowers in Halls of Mirrors: Mathematics Meets Art and Architecture” class at Aalto University in Helsinki. The piece, titled Aalto, consists of no more than 4 mm plywood and zip ties.

The plywood is stacked, screwed together, and run through a band saw to create the armatures, then holes are drilled for connection points. Once cut out, Hart and his students built the first piece in 1.5 hours, and the second in just 55 minutes. The resulting pieces are two meters wide and now hang in the Aalto University Design Factory.