View Finder

View Finder is a vision machine. Located on the edge of an elevated plaza, the large mass disrupts the view to the surrounding city and is punctured by a series of four voids lined with polished stainless steel. Each void is aligned to a specific view and its geometry is tuned to reflect certain elements in the environment, juxtaposing reflected flipped views with clear views that creates a kaleidoscopic effect. The lenses in our eyes flip the view of the world, but our brain has learned to perceive the world right-side up. View Finder requires us to think about the images our eyes are receiving to understand the world around us and our position in it.

Client 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis
Artist/ Architect Open Source Architecture, LLC
Design & Fabrication team Chandler Ahrens, Gregory Cuddihee, Manikanta Kavertipatnam, Jacob Greengo, Andrew Foster
Fabrication OS Fabrication, LLC
Structural Engineer DreamRunners LTD
Structural frame installation HWP Rigging
Lasercutting Sauer Machining
Photography Chandler Ahrens
Size 11’x7’x12’h
Materials Polished stainless steel, brushed stainless steel, mild steel, tube steel frame
Schedule Design 2022 / Construction 2023