Zome Mani Padme Zome

Zonotopia, The Once and Future Utopia of Zomes

2011-09-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

Miracula Mirabilis

The Twelfth Wonder of Zonotopia

Burning Man 2011

This year I had the amazing good fortune of having the best build team at Burning Man. We were ten minds, ten hearts and twenty hands strong. Each and every member, five women and five men, focused all of their unwavering strength and efforts for three days under grueling conditions to create this manifest vision of zonotopal architecture.

On a hot Friday morning at 10am, August 26th we were placed and began building in beautiful proximity to this years spectacular Temple.

We began by building the every charming Bodhisattva Zome, this for the eleventh time.

Before sunset on the first day both the Bodhisattva Zome and the 2010 Zonotopia Zome were fully erected and the Mirabilis was begun.

One Hundred Twenty Five panels and connectors, organized and ready to go.

For three days, we worked all day and into the evening.

And here we see a typical example of the women industriously hard at work while the men stand around not doing much of anything.

Here Zonotopians, Jeff and Val limber up during the build.

Almost all of Zonotopia is assembled using only scaffolding, ladders, mallets and muscle.

For the topmost rhombs, Art Support provided an appropriately blue boom lift assistance.

And on Monday, Complete! A remarkable wonder, the Miracula Mirabilis brought three new design elements to Zonotopia: a new upward spiralling, helical shell....

...,a indigo color design which faded down to white, and most importantly of all....

...Climbability! As many can attest, it was solid and fun 5.0 wonderland!

There are few things better in life than climbing your own art piece at Burning Man!

Each Zome provided a different visage and experience to all playa travellers.

On Wednesday night, we hosted our third Annual Zome Party with Mission Country Club. There was great music and ...

....fire spinning in the Zomes.

At long last, Patricia got her life long wish to chill in her hammock in a Zome.

The fade to blue portals garnered no shortage of compliments throughout the event. And as predicted, there was always one row of panels which perfectly matched the sky.

The Mirabilis came out at 25', just a bit taller than the 2010 Zonotopia Zome.

Intergalactic Zonotopians, Star Tiger and Sunshine stop by to admire the construction of their wedding chapel.

The Mirabilis at night, illuminated from within.

This is Zonotopia, the Once and Future Utopia of Zomes.

A giant Zome shaped Thank you goes to...

...The Zonotopia Crew

Sergio, Megan, Jeff, Val, Audrey, Ian, Stephanie, Earl, Patricia and Rob.

special thanks to

Mission Country Club

Dark Sevier

Mad Dog

Our Indiegogo Contributors

The Artery

Art Support

and Burning Man.

zome mani padme zome

-Rob Bell

Zonotopia

2010-09-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Zonotopia

Zomes are zonohedral domes. Zomes are different, more beautiful and more functional than geodesic domes. In addition to being derived from higher dimensional geometry my Zomes embody an organic and spiritual nature which all people identify with.

Enjoy!

zome mani padme zome

Rob Bell

The forgoing text was the introductory page in a journal book placed inside of the Zonotopia Zome. During the entire week of Burningman 2010 the journal book provided a place for people to express themselves and write their thoughts about the zome and their playa experiences.

On the blustery, rainy Saturday afternoon of August 28th, Patricia and I were on the playa at the spot which was to become Zonotopia for the next eight days. Amazingly, everything for both structures fit on my Tacoma and a small flat-bed trailer.

Sunday morning we began. We received fantastic placement, just behind the temple in sight of the Man.

Chris K. Palmer, a fellow Zome enthusiast and geometer showed up to assist with the assembly. Here we are organizing parts and soaping the joints.

In short order we had the base ring and bench supports layed out.

Ominous storm clouds loomed as we proceeded past the equator. The custom interlocking wooden panel and connector system performed very well.

We received help and encouragement from friends and passersby.

It turned out to be a beautiful day to build on the playa - not too hot, it never rained and it wasn't too windy.

After about six hours or hard physical work fatigue and hunger began setting in. Help arrived in the form of the Mission Country Club, our friends and campmates who arrived like a calvary come to save the day.

Here we see two expert joint soapers, soaping the connectors with ivory soap. I do believe we had the freshest smelling structure on the playa!

While the soapers soaped other friends assembled last years zome, The Bodhisattva Zome. It was awesome to see it spring to life again on the playa.

It was a great feeling to see so many people happily engaged in my Zome building madness.

The Zonotopia Zome lent it's topmost rhombuses to help loft the Bodhisattva star.

Meanwhile, back at the big zome work proceeded every inwards and upwards. Here I am persuading one of the rhombs into it's proper position.

Like clockwork, around and around, twelve rhombs per revolution the Zonotopia Zome wound it's way toward it's central focus.

Two point two tons of thanks to the Mission Country Club for coming out and creating a wonderful zome building party on the playa.

The sun was setting and we still had two rows to go. We were also reaching the 'do not sit or stand' portion of our ladder. Alex, our campmate, friend and Black Rock City Ranger called in for support from Heavy Machinery. Help was on the way!

Here I am in the basket with all the remaining rhombs while Chris helps from the inside wearing his lucky zome hat. The machine operator was able to move me around the structure with surgical dexterity.

At last an orange moon rose above the horizon, after a long day of zome building, we had only the last row of rhombs to go. Time to call it quits for the evening, get some sleep and continue in the morning.

Early the next morning I finished the final row of rhombs and placed the summit flame. The Zome was finished!

As people emerged from the temple they saw this: Zonotopia. For eight days, there were two complimentary Zomes adorning the playa with graceful architecture and craftsmanship. A manifestation of mathematics, design and simplicity in order to provide a space for experiences to happen.

And Happen they did...

...there were unexpected meetings of beautiful friends at sunrise...

...there were weddings...

...there were thousands of smiles...

...there were good friends full of love and laughter...

...there was firedancing...

...there were ceremonies and prayers....

...there were men with zome hats spreading polyhedral cheer...

...there was yoga...

...there were portals which framed amazing art...

...there was dancing in dust storms...

...and most of all there was Love.

Welcome to my Spaceship, Beautiful Forever.

zome mani padme zome

Rob Bell

A Zome Pavilion by Rob Bell and Chris K. Palmer

2010-04-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Zome for G4G9

selected photos

A beautiful day for Zome Building

Our platform covers what was once an old mine shaft.

A view from within the nearest neighbor

Beautiful flowers abound nearby.

The preliminary gravel ground cover and pathway

The Zome is in good company

- zome mani padme zome -

Algarden Zome in Make Magazine

2009-12-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

Day of the Dead Festival, San Francisco

2009-12-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

On November 2nd of 2009 we set up our Zome for the third time, in Garfield Park, San Francisco.

This installation was our first totally free to the public display. And while it was only up for about 10 hours it seemed as if it was appreciated by more people than the previous two events combined.

In terms of assembly and disassembly this time was very good.

Assembly took 1 hour 45 minutes. Disassembly took half that time. Pretty manageable. Tools used: soap, ladder and a mallet.

Thank you to our many friends, old and new, who came to help with the assembly and participate in the event.

For hours it was standing room only inside and out.

The Zome sheltered our Altar - The Altar of Zomatitlan. A colorful, smaller four frequency zome built with papel picado style faces and illuminated from within with candles.

For many the Zome and the Altar provided the ideal environment to remember and acknowledge the wisdom, memory and love of their ancestors, family and friends who have passed away.

The event, provided with a full moon and clear, warm weather, created a very beautiful and powerful evening.

Zome Mani Padme Zome

Decompression SF 2009

2009-10-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the many beautiful friends who helped us set up and break down the Bootiesattva Zome at Decompression SF yesterday. During the 10 hours or so that the zome was set up it was probably experienced by more people than during the entire week at Burningman. It was an awesome day and wonderful to see so many people react with wonder and joy to the structure.

I think the coolest thing about the zome is that it's not only Art but it's a space for sitting, a space for resting, for observing and connecting with people...

...and for many people during the day it was a space for eating lunch.

It's a real joy to have been able to realize such a form that provokes so many smiles. Here are some of the quotes about the zome overheard during the day..

"...this is game changing.."

"...what the...?"

"..genius.."

"..it's so simple.."

"..it's math, architecture and love.."

Thanks to everyone who enjoyed the zome and took the time to talk with me about it.

Ok it may be all math, architecture and love but the zome is also alive in many respects, not the least of which is the ability to defend itself.

Here we see a future Zomonaut testing the torpedo system.

Future Zomonaut

The data is still being analysed but preliminary results are very positive.

Please look for the Zome again in San Francisco on November 2nd for Dia de los Muertos. We will be building a Community Altar for the Day of the Dead Festival.

The Altar of Zomatitlan is what it's called.

..more to come.

Welcome to my Spaceship! Beautiful Forever.

2009-09-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

A giant Zome shaped thanks to everyone who helped to fund our Burningman 2009 Art piece: Evolving to Bootiesattva: Zome Mani Padme Zome.

The name is a mouthful and quite franky is simply what ended up on the application form. Like the structure of the Zome itself the names represent different facets of the same thing - the overlapping inside jokes and plays on words of the day; an amalgam of the irreverent and the profound. So, yes, but what is it really?

It's a Zome, a zonohedral dome, made entirely of wood. It's also a spaceship. It's a giant puzzle, the Bootiesattva, zome mani padme zome, an Artilect seed, an instance of a generative geometric cnc cut architectural pattern class, a Temple of Love, Sacred Geometry, a playa portal and gazebo.

Production began noon Monday, one week before the event.

First joint

Part of the Art of the project was to be able to bang out a sizable structure with a very reasonable amount of time and labor. The production of the zome was completed on noon Friday. After approximately 30 hours of cnc cutting and shop labor the zome was ready.

Cutting the clips

Assembly on the playa was hampered by dust storms and wind. It took a total of 8 hours to assemble the project - about half of which was spent sitting in the back of the truck waiting for a break in the weather.

And another quarter of which was spent dealing with a handful of problem parts. With good weather and refined tolerances assembly should easily be under 2 hours. At least we were 100% done working early Tuesday which left plenty of quality Playa time.

A Temple

It's a Temple for grounding, for meditation and healing; a space for reflection and introspection. It brings the outside in and lets the inside out. It's a manifest declaration of a living system - dividing Universe into two parts; the inside and the outside, yet maintaining the connection and allowing information to effortlessly pass thru it's boundary membrane. It provides an organic and harmonious context from which to view Universe and complementarily Self.

Each of the benches provides a different perspective of the Playa and Sky through elliptically framed portals the multiplicity of which give scale and context to the outer vista. The feelings of being safely ensconced, wellness and omni-perception coexist withing the Zome.

The Zome by Sunrise

The joy and wonder with which everyone received the Zome was a pleasure to witness. It was an additional pleasant surprise that most people noticed and appreciated the usage of all wooden cnc cut fasteners. From far and near the Zome was designed to intrigue and draw the viewer every closer as new details and structural patterns come into view.

A Spaceship:

Emerging from the Playa

There is actually much, much more but it's still underground. Perhaps after a year of nurturing more will come forth and mature, gaining form and cohesion. And again each year until our spaceship casts off from the Earth.

Zome Mani Padme Zome

-Rob Bell and Patricia Algara, 2009

Come and Shake your Bootiesattva!

2009-06-30T10:21:00.001-07:00

Dance Party Fundraiser

When: 9pm, July 11th, 2009
Where: Zomadic Fabrication Studio, 542 Alabama St. San Francisco, Ca MAP

Music Main Shop Floor:
DJ - Diet
DJ - Juan Data
DJ - Bridge

Zomadic Wizardry on the Big Screen:
VJ - Zomad

Sustenance:
Delectable nourishment provided by The Magic Curry Cart

Events and Experiences:
Preview a scale model of the Bootiesattva Zome.
Achieve instant Nirvana in the Dome of Enlightenment!
Table Saw Dancing - watch yer step!
Meet Shopbert the robot - do not taunt!
Swag for the taking...
..and Zomitas for sale.

Entry Donation $10 and up
$25 VIP Pass for entry and refreshments...

More Party details to come...check back!!

Prepare for the Playa

2009-06-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

In August we'll be joining our friends at Prepare for the Playa

Connecting you to everything you need for the BURN!

What :
Fashion shows
Playa 'U' how to clinics
Live entertainment & Performance
...and all the playa specific and playa friendly products & fashions from local Burner-Prenuers!

When :
12pm-8pm 8/1 , 8/22 & 8/23

Where :
The Artist Grotto and North Parking Lot of
The Sports Basement
1590 Bryant Street, SF

The Bootiesattva Zome

2009-06-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

The spiral is the most ancient symbol found on every civilized continent

The spiral of nature, art, mathematics - a constant form at all scales which revolves around itself ever evolving upward towards syntropy, synergy, life, concousness and enlightenment. The duality of the spiral embodies the cyclical nature of birth and rebirth and the escape therefrom.

On the Playa enter the Zome Mani Padme Zome and begin the evolutionary journey; the cycle or birth and rebirth thru a spiral labyrinth of luminarias ever evolving inwards, ever evolving upwards, sometimes setback but ultimately finding the sacred lotus zome at the center - the Bootiesattva. A sacred space where experiences happen.

Conception

2009-06-08T21:48:00.000-07:00

From Duality a union is formed
a Unity thus begotten.
A future child of hope and love
and a past not forgotten.

zome mani padme zome