Design Principles
During early tests and on 360° Saturdays, CSV staff and artists generously shared their knowledge, helping to accelerate completion of the 360° VPS.
360° Video Projection Cylinder
In 2020 meetings with artists and CSV staff, we established these design principles for a 360° video projection screen:
Affordable, relative to other types of projection screens available from CSV.
Portable, lightweight, easy for 1 or 2 people to move and setup.
Collapsible to the smallest storage floor space possible.
After a false start with a heavy metal frame, we created a lattice frame out of 8 "2X4"s, ripped into 58 eight foot 3/8" lathe to form a free standing lattice cylinder able to support two 6' by 30' video projection screens. It all weighs less then 100 lbs. 1 person can set it up, two take less time. And, it all requires about 3 sq ft of storage floor space.
The frame has an adjustable diameter but the two screens have a maximum width/circumference of 60'.
The Original Design
8 curved metal frames. Est. weight: 500+ lbs.
more. . .
While trying to fund a $6K, 500 lb. VPC, I stumbled upon Mongolian nomadic tribes who have been building portable, circular structures for millennia, using whatever was available in the desert: sticks, strips of leather and animal hides. We call them yurts.
The Mongolian Design
A Yurt without a roof, Est. weight: 90+ lbs
more. . .
When the ends of a lattice are joined together, a natural, free standing, circular wall is created, with remarkable load bearing capacity. It's a "one stick is weak, all together they are strong" metaphor.
By emulating the Mongolians, all I needed was 8 2x4s and a bunch of nuts, bolts and washers.
This was the inspiration for the final design.
