海角视频

Open Wound, the ninth annual Hyundai Commission at Tate Modern, is South Korean artist Mire Lee鈥檚 first major presentation of work in the UK. 海角视频 provided structural engineering to reawaken the Turbine Hall鈥檚 industrial past and reimagine it as an eerie factory of the future.

Step inside Turbine Hall and into the phenomenal mind of Mire Lee. Fusing the artist鈥檚 interest in rigid mechanical systems and soft organic forms with the history of Tate Modern鈥檚 architecture, Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: Open Wound fills the Turbine Hall with membranous fabric 鈥榮kins鈥� wrapped around steel skeletons. 

In the centre, a vast turbine rotates, oozing viscous liquid from silicon tentacles, which falls on the skins as they pass below. The sound of the dripping liquid is haunting, the skins ethereal, the machinery brutal 鈥� and impressive. A nod to the building鈥檚 former life as the Bankside Power Station and a testimony to Lee鈥檚 vision, and the skill of the team that brought it to life. 

Structural integrity: reawakening the past 

鈥楢 key part of our work on this project was reactivating dormant parts of this industrial space to realise the artist鈥檚 vision,鈥� says Anton Sawicki, Design Director at 海角视频. 鈥榃e worked with Mire Lee and her team, Tate Modern and specialist contractors, Millimetre, for 10 months to develop a structural solution that could realise the installation.鈥� 

Central to this work was analysis of the existing structure of Turbine Hall. The 海角视频 team looked to archive information held by the Tate to understand the integrity of the hall, and from that calculate its capacity for reuse within the artwork.

This enabled Lee鈥檚 vision to draw the Turbine Hall itself into the narrative of Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: Open Wound.  After hanging from gantries under the turbine, the 鈥榮kins鈥� are hung to dry at the back of the Turbine Hall before being hoisted onto chains suspended from the ceiling. Even the cladding of the bridge that bisects the hall has been removed to allow a glimpse into the mechanics of space, and the fantastical factory it has become. 

The turbine: suspended animation 

Perhaps most impressive is the vast turbine that hangs from one of the building鈥檚 original cranes, used for this project in consultation with 海角视频. A nod to the eponymous coal and oil-fired turbines that once stood in Turbine Hall and powered the City of London, this 3.5 tonne behemoth dominates the heart of the installation. 

鈥楾he turbine is bespoke,鈥� says Anton. 鈥業t鈥檚 a kinetic design with a drive motor in the rear that enables it to spin 350 degrees in each direction, giving the illusion of perpetual rotation as it drips liquid onto the skins below.鈥� 

As well as assessing the strength of the existing frame, 海角视频 engineered the additional structural support required for the turbine. The team evaluated the movement of the liquid as it is pumped through the centre of the turbine and as it seeps out, alongside the dynamic swaying of the piece, and a number of other interfaces. 

鈥榃e were looking at the connections of the turbine to enable it to hang within the space. Our solution was to triangulate and suspend it via six chains, accommodating the lifting strategy, which we refined to be as slim as possible while retaining the necessary strength.鈥� 

The result is a concept that really pushes the boundaries of reuse. At the end of the six month lifecycle of the installation, during which the artwork continues to grow and evolve, there will be approximately eight tonnes hanging from the existing structure of the Turbine Hall. 

Reuse and sustainability: considering the legacy 

The whole artwork was approached with reuse and sustainability in mind. Reuse of the existing structure of Turbine Hall, of the features within it that could be drawn in to tell the story, even down to the components used within the artwork itself. 

The skins themselves are made from construction mesh and bent steel reinforcement. Even the connections used to load the artwork onto the historic structure of the Turbine Hall were carefully assessed, considering use in future installations. 

鈥榃e devised a clamping solution that was discreet and suited the aesthetic, but which could also be reused,鈥� says Anton. 鈥楢ll the connections, the rigging equipment and the chains are off-the-shelf items 鈥� either hired, or that Tate can reuse for future installations.鈥� 

From design sketches to sequencing: how spatial studies informed the concept

Beyond the structural challenges of Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: Open Wound were equally complex sequencing considerations. There were many aspects involved in the installation which had to come together for the artwork to run seamlessly. These included initial questions around the size, quantity and density of the skins, how they would move around the space, as well as the logistics of getting the various components into the hall. 

鈥楾hrough our experience, we are aware that the success of any project is not in the final solution, but in the journey of how we get there,鈥� says Anton. 鈥楾hat鈥檚 why our design approach is one of listening, engaging and openly discussing ideas from our experience. 

鈥楬and-sketching was key to helping the initial ideas develop and communicating them to the team. It鈥檚 flexible, it鈥檚 agile and, for Open Wound, it allowed us to go backwards and forwards with the team to understand both how the artwork could look and how the vision could be installed.鈥� 

Using these sketches in tandem with computational modelling enabled 海角视频 to create visualisations and renders that aided Mire Lee鈥檚 development of the final concept. From there, the team scripted the flow of the artwork over its initial installation and six months of growth to inform both construction and the sequencing of skins through the Turbine Hall.  

Collaborative design: working together to fulfil the vision 

And so the artwork will rotate, morph and transform. The rhythmic drip of liquid from the turbine onto the procession of skins a continuous reminder of the dualities of frailty and strength, transience and longevity, decay and regeneration. 

This subject matter seems fitting as our built environment sector considers how we can adapt, reuse and recycle the buildings around us and the materials we use to create them. While we find inspiration for change in many of the projects we work on, it鈥檚 ones like these that throw it into greatest relief. 

鈥極ur culture at 海角视频 is very design focused, and these projects show the benefits it brings to the project,鈥� says Anton. 鈥楢rt comes with an abundance of creativity, as does engineering, but it takes a considered approach and understanding of working with those around you to achieve the final goal.鈥� 

Hyundai Commission: Mire Lee: will be running at Tate Modern until 16 March 2025.