OPENING MONDAY 5/14: Catenary Whorl Opens at Little Bear

Catenary Whorl  OPENING: Monday, May 14, 5-7 p.m. Little Bear 1855 Industrial Street Los Angeles, CA 90021   This past semester Woodbury School of Architecture graduate students designed and built Catenary Whorl in a class taught by David Freeland, of FreelandBuck. The students suspended an acoustic canopy above Little Bear, a boisterous gastropub in downtown Los Angeles.   Conceived as part of Freeland's drawing and visualization seminar, Evolving Media, the canopy is composed of 5,000 feet of soft, thick rope, which hangs from the ceiling of the restaurant. The canopy diffuses and absorbs sound while creating a unique atmosphere. The rope is hand-dyed and the hues correspond with regions of color intensity identifying areas of acoustic absorption. Because the rope is hung more densely in some areas than others, the undulating surface subdivides the restaurant into smaller volumes, reducing reverberation time and creating distinct spatial qualities for bar, lounge, and dining areas.   Catenary Whorl was created by Woodbury School of Architecture graduate students in the visualization seminar Evolving Media taught by David Freeland. Zachary Schoch, teaching assistant; Ana Del Longo-Silberstein, Henry Cheung, Israel Castillo, Kemi Esho, Michael Kuroda, Pamas Moleeratanond, Roosevelt Golino, Sunny Lam   Additional assistance: Juan Lau, Teagan Castellon, Rana Ahmadi, Mark Montiel, Paul Castellanos, Duc Le, Brian Diaz, Joseph Veliz, Eric Arm.