Build the Wind

Art Installation

Production Assistant: Hiina Sugiyama

Rethinking wind. Outside buildings, wind blows. Why does it blow? It is a thermodynamic phenomenon. Warm air rises and cool air descends. Differences in air pressure cause air to move. This is wind. Atmospheric processes occur at a meteorological scale, but this work brings them down to an experiential scale. What emerges is a movement of air distinctly different from that produced by a fan forcing air around. Perhaps we can find a clue to why we find natural wind so pleasant. The work employs heat pump technology used in air conditioning systems. By replacing the heat exchanger of an air conditioner—which can simultaneously produce hot and cold zones—with handmade copper pipe towers, updrafts and downdrafts are generated. The air conditioner, normally used to regulate indoor temperature uniformly, here disrupts the environment through heat and wind, creating a second environment around the towers. This raises questions about the modern architectural approach of partitioning interior from exterior and expelling heat outside to maintain indoor comfort. One side of the two copper pipe towers heats up to 50°C while the other cools down to 0°C. The surrounding air is warmed or cooled, and wind arises. The towers are erected in a pool, and mist generated from mist makers inside the towers visualizes the movement of wind.