For my final project, I decided to merge some of the things I said I wanted to do. So I decided to use acrylic to create this object that would radiate light through the cut outs. I drew the design in Illustrator and sort of created a image of a mandala.

I wanted the final object to be big, so I bought 12 pieces of acrylic, 18×24 inches. To laser cut each side took around 30 min each, so gladly I had people who worked at the lab to open for me after hours in order to achieve the final result on time.

To attach all of the sides together I used a special acrylic glue that dissolves the acrylic to one another. At the beginning I thought it would work with this clue, but after leaving a while to dry it sticked together really well.

For lighting inside of the object I went to Home Depot and bought two flashlights that firefighters use because it illuminates a whole room and I really needed a powerful source. Also, it needed to be via batteries instead of plugged.

I first was thinking in implementing it at the hospital where I’m currently doing my thesis project, but due to short time it wouldn’t be possible. So I decided to install at Union Square since it was near school (since the object was big and fragile)  and because at this time of the year it’s always very crowded. To take it to Union Square I had to put it on top of a stroller otherwise it would break while carrying it.

This is the pdf of my final presentation. I decided to put the process / final project in a presentation because I had many pictures of the step by step and it would be more organized this way. Just click to take a look: Installation-v1

Here is the file in Illustrator if you want to download and do your own version. Lasercut-file

I’m really happy and satisfied with the outcome of the project. It also made be happy seeing peoples reaction and how people were engaging with it. It’s really satisfying seeing your work being appreciated by others.