London-based production studio Unit9 has created a tensegrity structure at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed that can be transformed into a race track using an augmented reality app.
Named Lotus Aeroad, the 50-metre-long sculpture was built outside Goodwood House as the centrepiece for the motorsport festival, which took place from 8-11 July.
Top: the Lotus Aeroad was designed to showcase the new Lotus Emira. Above: the structure can be enhanced using augmented reality
The lightweight tensegrity structure was informed by the design philosophy of British car brand Lotus, which sponsored the structure.
"Lotus Aeroad is inspired by Lotus founder Colin Chapman's philosophy of 'simplify, then add lightness', which led us to use tensegrity as a design and engineering principle," Unit9's creative director Kate Lynham told Dezeen. Lotus Aeroad is made from steel tubes and cables
Balanced on a supporting frame, the structure was made from steel tubes held in tension by stainless steel cables.
According to the designers, it forms a cantilever that mimics the "rooster tail" shape of the Lotus Evija, which was the brand's first electric hypercar.
"The sculpture employs the engineering concept of tensegrity ? a structural principle where tension and opposing forces create exceptionally strong and rigid structures with minimal mass," said Lynham.
"We wanted the structure to be made more from air than any other material."
The designers used ...