Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
public art
cultural heritage
digital-physical integration
interdisciplinary collaboration
distributed fabrication
Engineering Mythology: A Digital-Physical Framework for Culturally-Inspired Public Art
🤖 AI Summary
This study addresses the challenge of integrating cultural traditions, digital technologies, and distributed collaboration in large-scale interdisciplinary public art projects. The authors propose a multi-knowledge system coordination framework that synthesizes mythological narrative, artisanal craftsmanship, engineering optimization, and environmental constraints. By establishing an integrated digital–physical workflow—spanning digital modeling, photogrammetry, digital twin simulation, modular structural optimization, and distributed fabrication—the team efficiently designed and executed a one-time on-site assembly of “Navagunjara Reborn,” an installation inspired by Odishan mythology. Successfully deployed in the Black Rock Desert, the project demonstrates the viability of a transregional, transcultural, and transdisciplinary collaborative model, offering a replicable and innovative paradigm for STEAM education and the revitalization of cultural heritage.
📝 Abstract
Navagunjara Reborn: The Phoenix of Odisha was built for Burning Man 2025 as both a sculpture and an experiment-a fusion of myth, craft, and computation. This paper describes the digital-physical workflow developed for the project: a pipeline that linked digital sculpting, distributed fabrication by artisans in Odisha (India), modular structural optimization in the U.S., iterative feedback through photogrammetry and digital twins, and finally, one-shot full assembly at the art site in Black Rock Desert, Nevada. The desert installation tested not just materials, but also systems of collaboration: between artisans and engineers, between myth and technology, between cultural specificity and global experimentation. We share the lessons learned in design, fabrication, and deployment and offer a framework for future interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of cultural heritage, STEAM education, and public art. In retrospect, this workflow can be read as a convergence of many knowledge systems-artisan practice, structural engineering, mythic narrative, and environmental constraint-rather than as execution of a single fixed blueprint.
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
digital-physical workflow
distributed fabrication
digital twin
modular structural optimization
culturally-inspired design
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