TMS CAD Autodesk BIM in Scotland: Autodesk collaborated with Studio Echelman "Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks”

Check out this really cool collaboration:

Studio Echelman installed its largest, most interactive sculpture installation to date at the TED Conference’s 30th anniversary, March 2014. The monumental aerial sculpture spanned 745 feet between the 24-story Fairmont Waterfront and the Vancouver Convention Center, challenging the artist to work on her most ambitious scale yet – over twice the size of her largest previous sculpture.
The sculpture was presented with an original, interactive work created in collaboration with artist Aaron Koblin, Creative Director of the Data Arts Team in Google’s Creative Lab. At night the sculpture came to life as visitors were able to choreograph the lighting in real time using physical gestures on their mobile devices. Vivid beams of light were projected across a massive scale as the result of small movements on spectators’ phones.
In the daytime, the sculpture’s delicate yet monumental form is subtle, blending in with clouds and sky. A complex matrix of 860,000 hand and machine-made knots and 145 miles of braided fiber weighing nearly 3,500 pounds span 745 feet make up Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks.

After Janet Echelman's TED presentation three years ago "Taking Imagination Seriously", between sessions she met Autodesk CEO Carl Bass and Autodesk CTO Jeff Kowalski. Janet mentioned she had reached the limits of what she could design due to software limitations on scale and assuring the sculpture design could actually be fabricated and withstand the loads. Carl and Jeff said they knew a few things about digital design and simulation and could take on the challenge of the scale limitations that Janet was hitting.
In order to achieve such scale and complexity, Echelman turned to Autodesk, a leader in 3D design software that seeks out interesting design problems. Autodesk collaborated with Studio Echelman to create custom 3D software to model the sculpture and test its feasibility. “The software has allowed me to explore density, shape, and scale in much greater detail,” says Echelman. “We can manipulate our designs and see the results immediately. We’re able to push the boundaries of our designs further.”

Janet Echelman’s "Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks” is suspended 700 feet complimenting the beauty of the Vancouver British Columbia waterfront, and welcoming TED Conference attendees. This is the largest sculpture piece by Echelman. Autodesk was the principal sponsor of the sculpture and dedicated software development and consulting expertise to create the tool that Janet Echelman needed to model and test design feasibility, structural integrity, and wind loads at the scale of the city.