Maximilian's Schell Benjamin Ball & Gaston Nogues

The new vortex-shaped, outdoor installation by architects Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues warps the flow of space with a featherweight rendition of a celestial black hole; “the deadliest force in the Universe.” Hovering over M&A's courtyard “Maximilian's Schell” is a spectacle the size of an apartment building that has been stopping traffic along Silver Lake Boulevard since its unveiling in June. Constructed with tinted Mylar resembling stained glass, the vortex functions as a shade structure, swirling above the outdoor gallery.

The interior of this immersive experimental installation creates an environment for enhanced social interaction and contemplation by changing the space, color, and sound of the M&A courtyard gallery. During the day as the sun passes overhead, the canopy casts colored fractal light patterns onto the ground while a tranquil subsonic drone from an integrated ambient sound installation by composer James Lumb (Electric Skychurch) entitled "Resonant Amplified Vortex Emitter," lightly rumbles below the feet of visitors.

Beginning development over a year ago, the designers created a project that functions as architecture, sculpture, and a “made-to-order" product. They achieved their aesthetic effects by manipulating Mylar, internally reinforced with bundled Nylon and Kevlar fibers, with a sophisticated computer controlled (CNC) cutting machine. The transparent amber-colored film offers UV-resistance through a golden metallic finish. The result is neither a tent-type membrane nor a cable net structure in the manner of Frei Otto, but a unique tensile matrix comprised of 504 different instances of a parametric component, each cut using the CNC system. As though warped by the force of gravity, the components continually change scale and shape as they approach the center or “singularity” of the piece. The extreme intricacy and repetitiveness of the assembly pay homage to actor Maximilian Schell’s character ‘Dr. Reinhardt’ in Disney Studio's classic sci-fi thriller, The Black Hole. Dr. Reinhardt is a tyrant whose monomaniacal quest to harness the "power of the vortex" and possess “the great truth of the unknown!” leads to his apocalyptic demise and descent into hell.

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