Unusual Architecture + Ronald van der Meijs

Orihuela, Provincia di Alicante, Spagna: [ARABIDOPSIS SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION BY RONALD VAN DER MEIJS]
Arabidopsis Synaptic Transmission by Ronald van der Meijs

A hanging installation in The Hague is a symbiosis of nature and technology. According to its designer, contemporary artist Ronald van der Meijs the piece reflects the environment where it’s hanging – the headquarters of Europol.

Arabidopsis Synaptic Transmission by Ronald van der Meijs

Since the organization deals with information management and technology, van der Meijs wanted the installation to be an intermediary between the building, the people and Europol’s function.

Arabidopsis Synaptic Transmission by Ronald van der Meijs

“My inspiration was a scientific research article about the communication of plants,’ van der Meijs says. ‘The area where a new shoot is coming out of a branch serves as an example for the shape of the sculpture. It can be seen as a metaphor of a natural expanding network, development and growth.”

Arabidopsis Synaptic Transmission by Ronald van der Meijs

Van der Meijs first made a 1:20 scale of the structure, then created a computer model. The installation is made of is made of lightweight poplar plywood, while the honeycomb plastic skin is made of Polypropylene which is typically used for stabilization of gravel roads.

Arabidopsis Synaptic Transmission by Ronald van der Meijs

It's coated with a special acrylic paint and is suspended using metal connection parts with custom-made stainless steel cables.

Arabidopsis Synaptic Transmission by Ronald van der Meijs
Arabidopsis Synaptic Transmission by Ronald van der Meijs