Flying lantern

We tried out the Chinese lantern which was heavily disturbed by the heavy wind therefore we failed to fly the lantern in our first trial however it did work in the second trial.

After our successful trial, we discovered that the flying lantern lifts away too fast and misses the opportunity to experience its surroundings deeply.Therefore, rather than using the power source the package gave us, we decided to create our own power source using packed cotton and soaking it with meth alcohol. By doing so, we could control the duration and the quality of fire.This also reduced the wild flames of the paraffin and reduced the chances of the envelope to catch on fire.

We also experimented different shape and form. Having the rice paper as the protector with the seaweed layers in between made the material candle-fireproof and it made the structure very stiff and stable. 

We tried to fly many lanterns with different materials, sizes of cotton and meth, shape of the envelope and size of it.

Process of Experiments:
1 -purchased flying lantern (round) with the given paraffin 

2 -purchased flying lantern (round) with cotton and meth.

3 -our own lantern with quadrilateral shape, crepe paper and cotton fire.

4 -seaweed and rice paper functioning as a fire protector with paper envelope from the purchased lantern and cotton fire.

5 -our own lantern with fabric which has double coating and similar shape of our own paper lantern and cotton fire.

6 -our own lantern with lighter fabric with triangular shape and cotton fire.
7 -our own lantern with rubbish bag and paraffin

This video only shows you 1 and 2

 This video shows the successful version of the purchased flying lantern and numbers 3 to 7. 



component two 
focusing on curvatures from the bottle, we created a roof for the flying vehicle which encapsulates space and functionally protects the passengers inside. The smooth flowing character of the roof juxtaposes with the rapid spontaneous  motion of the flying vehicle.

On the other hand, we also experimented with the arrangement of the components. We flipped the roof upside down and mirrored the roof and created a basket for people to stand on for the hot air balloon, which in this case is the Chinese lantern. The curvatures and the elegance of the component and its openness convey a sense of freedom and lightness like the rising motion of the Chinese lantern. 

 we thinned the thickness of the basket to reduce the weight of the component which reduces the masculinity image however it inserts a sense of elegance and emphasizes the lightness and the freedom spatial experience.

however due to limitation of printing, we had to go back to our original idea

hot air balloon baskets interact with people internally however as it is flying in air most of the time, the underneath part of the basket is the most viewed part of the basket. Therefore we paid attention to the bottom part of the basket as well to create rhythm and character to it rather than a flat surface.

final
we were interested in the movie 'Up' and how a house was lifted up from land completely. We joined and combined three chinese lanterns into one.
The motion of the envelope that we wanted to create is captured.

the above video shows our last attempt to fly the lantern. Due to the rainy weather, the paper quality was poor compared to other vidoes and started to create holes in the envelope. Other than the weather factor, we also discovered that the 3D printing was too heavy compared to the volume of heat and lift despite its small size.
The aesthetic created from the three lanterns is interesting. The floral like shape inserts a sense of feminism and emphasises the openness and lightness of space and air.

Spatial human experience
The Chinese lantern, once it has taken off, has very fluid and soft motion. It has a sense of openness and freedom to it. Its course of direction changes by wind whether it be small gusts or big gusts, but if constructed in a stable and secure manner the interior of the structure should not change form and remain constant. So it would be interesting to capture this sense of openness and freedom along with consistency within the space that the avatars will be occupying. The shape of the basket in which the avatars will travel in, resonates all the ideas that I mentioned above. It has fluid, flowing curves and an open structure that will allow you to feel free and light and enjoy the view outside the basket.