ABSTRACT
The migratory pattern of the strangler fig is a transgressive one: to compete in dark tropical forests strangler figs parasitically grow on the surfaces of neighboring trees, simultaneously sending roots down into the soil and above the canopy toward the sun. The host tree dies, leaving the fig wrapped around a column of air. This natural process metaphorically parallels an intervention on the Columbus Circle site which envelops and appropriates adjacent architectures, transforming Two Columbus Circle into a giant urban canvas emitting artwork to the street. Investigations into the material and morphological specificity of oval neoprene foam models result in the formation of quasi-symmetrical units with multiple tentacles and receptacles along their peripheries; these function as three-dimensional hinges and provide possibilities for various reconfigurations of the membrane. The result is a chameleon-like surface, which conceals itself by duplicating the effects of the buildings which surround it.
