Elytra Filament Pavilion, Victoria & Albert Museum,  London,  July 2016

Elytra Filament Pavilion formed part of the 2016 V&A Engineering Season.  This overhead structure was inspired by the shells of flying beetles known as elytra. The result was an undulating expanse of glass and carbon fibre cells produced using an innovative robotic winding technique.  My initial impression was of  a graceful canopy providing fortuitous protection from the summer rain.  Looking back, I definitely see large beetle eyes and a long proboscis!

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Hex colour reference: #d68a59

A colourful note:  sienna is an earth pigment that provide shades of orange and red.  In its natural state it verges on yellow-brown and is termed ; when heated it turns red-brown and is called burnt sienna.  It is named after Siena, in Tuscany,   where the pigment was produced in large quantities during the Renaissance.

The burnt sienna shade first appeared in Crayola crayon form in the original No. 51 box in 1903.

Copyright Debbie Smyth, 10 January 2017

Part of Color Your World