ann arbor MICHIGAN

suckerPUNCH: Describe your project.

Meredith MILLER & Thom MORAN: A seasonal kiosk sited alongside Chicago’s lakefront, Plastic Sunrise does two seemingly opposite things at once: it creates a legible, referential form while simultaneously producing atmospheric effects in tandem with changing light from sunrise to sunset.

By transforming waste plastics into a series of attenuated shells that join together, Plastic Sunrise approximates a sphere whose phenomenal qualities of form, color, and luminosity reference the familiar hues and effects of the morning sun. The thermal casting process enables heavier bits of warm-colored plastic to aggregate toward the ground, creating a saturated interior while leaving the upper areas translucent. As a result, there is a gradient of light transmission across the object’s surface, merging architecture with environment.

sP: What or who influenced this project?
MM & TM: The plastic forms of neighborhood playgrounds; geodesic domes

sP: What were you reading/listening to/watching while developing this project?
MM & TM: Billie Faircloth’s new book, Plastics Now.

sP: Whose work is currently on your radar?
MM & TM: The LADG, LAMAS, EADO, and SIFT.

Additional credits and links:
Project Team: Evan Bruetsch, Stephen Busscher, Meredith Miller, and Thom Moran.
Lake Michigan Photo Credit: Alan Rovge.