Conceptual Description

In the West Plaza near D1 and the Experimental Research Building, there is a sculpture called Whirlpool. However, there is no counterpart structure in the East Plaza.

Sky Torch is a proposal for such a structure which would provide the dual purpose of providing shade to the seats below and being a distinct landmark representing the NYUAD's commitment to a global community and a global education.

Sky Torch uses the various structures on campus that were meant to be used to grow vines, but were abandoned, and repurposes them as shades and as the torch upon which a large metal globe is placed. This massive globe represents the diversity of students that come to NYUAD and make it their second home. Its lights represent the community members from all around the world who make up the bright and thriving campus at NYUAD.

All in all, Sky Torch celebrates diversity and practically helps the community by providing shade, creating a comfortable space for community members to chat in the outdoors.

In the West Plaza near D1 and the Experimental Research Building, there is a sculpture called Whirlpool which is very large and looks like the image on the right. I see it often on my way back to my dorm, and I have always thought: why isn't there an equivalent artistic installation on the East Plaza, near D2? It would be a great landmark and a nice thing to look at while eating outside.

However, maybe they did not put such a thing because it would serve no practical purpose for those dining, and would be a disturbance instead. Well then, I thought: the challenge must then be to make something that is both fascinating and beautiful, but also practical for the purposes of the people who walk past and dine outside.

That's how I came up with the idea of the Sky Torch: an artistic installation that would not only serve as a symbol of the university, its diversity, and its legacy, but also provide some well-needed shade.

Of course, to convince people to execute my plan, I would first have to show them the vision, which is precisely what I did using AR, Unity, and Styly.

On the left is my sketch of the piece. The shape is torchlike, and the body of the torch uses various structures on campus that were meant to be used to grow vines, but were abandoned. I decided to repurpose them as shades.

I began the process by trying to make the shade structures on Blender, as pictured below. However, I later found that a friend had a model of the campus umbrella structures, so I decided to use his models, which were more precise to the actual dimensions and curvature of the real thing. I then manipulated a piece of fabric I found online and attached it to each structure to serve as shade. The last piece of the structure was globe, which represents the diversity of students that come to NYUAD and make it their second home.

I also added an animation of the globe rotating, which I had some custom code for, as well as some ambient spatial sound that would get louder when you went closer to the sculpture.

I had the most difficulty with trying to export the thing from Unity to Styly. Even after following the instructions, it was a nightmare because of some Unity version problems. I also ended up finding out that Styly does not take custom code, so I had to change how I was animating.

Thankfully, in the end, I made it work. All in all, I'm very happy with the final product. The only think I might change is making it more interactive, but when I tried adding more interactions like being draggable or breakable, it took away from the piece rather thxan making it more real. Thus, I kept it as is, and I think it looks great.

I may indeed add a QR near D2 so people can try it out for themselves.