_:Concept
The new P&G Gillette Landmark aims to reflect and reinforce the history and tradition of this brand in combination with new trendsetting avant garde techniques and materials.
Gillette Razors (products) are use every days by men and women around the world. The “TRAC 2 / Cultural Reflections” symbolize the world without borders, across several time zones, the daily reflections of our self in the mirror translated into a sculptural skin, which will mirror each visitor and its surroundings. The polished skin creates a communication which the observer and the environment in real time. “TRAC 2 / Cultural Reflections” impresses with its design through “Free Form” – a design style in modernistic architecture and art, which is nowadays possible through the intensive blurring of the boundaries between traditional craftsmanship and modern world of CAD / Cam engineered objects. It supports the P&G Gillette Corporate Brand philosophy where the products are always innovative, high performing and technologically advanced. Architectural form and its relationship to society, environment and nature have rich antecedents to the human body. The Landmark is nearly floating on the ground, like the razor on the skin. Perfect balanced, with a light twist to the ground. The design concept also links with its reflective skin without any welds to the TRAC II which was the world’s first two-blade razor, which reduced facial irritation – our self as mirrored image on the skin of the sculpture; each observer becomes part of it. Through its chrome plated skin the sculpture will blend into its environment physical and virtual.
The height of 145ft derived through carefully observation of landmarks all over the world which have nearly the same scale and which have a strong symbolic character. From the architectural point of view it is important not to be taller as the main building itself ; also it is less tall then the “Statue of Liberty”, which is a cosmopolitan symbol for freedom; like “TRAC 2 – CULTURAL REFLECTIONS”.
_:Materials, Fabrication and Foundation
Through researching organic forms and their production methods the intelligence of the material itself should support the design language, the lightness and stiffness. Also the blend of high profile craftsmanship and computer aided design, which will landmark nowadays production methods. Today’s pursuit to build lightweight for economic, material engineering and environmental reasons is the logical response to today’s changing society where flexibility is the prime survival quality.
The main material used for the sculpture is Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GRP) bounded with eco resin through thermosetting, which gives the material stability to degration, UV, weathering and wind. GRP allows also computer aided manufacturing of an organic design language without much more costs. The CAD model will serve as basis for the production. The 1st support structure swill be built through straightforward moulding in several pieces, which will then clad to a supporting steel frame (except the there end spikes, which will be out of a solid GRP element, which is then bolt to the space frame). The construction of the supporting steel space frame is also based on the supported 3D CAD file. After the first construction phase and before the final chrome finish the joins have to be polished to achieve a continuous surface; the joins should be no longer detectable. The final step is to give the object a high-gloss chrome finish, which will be applied in several coats and rubbed down between each coat. The result will be a skin which will mainly cleaned through natural weather conditions ( reduce the maintenance costs ).
