The Winner

Mr Chris Falla, Bartlett School of Architecture

Birds of a Feather

A murmuration of starlings is an awe inducing spectacle of aerial ballet, consisting of innumerous unique members swirling and writhing as a collective whole. The science behind this mass feat of coordination can best be described as a system constantly on the cusp of a shift, where its current form can instantly and completely transform, like snow before an avalanche or liquid turning to gas. Each starling is similarly invisibly connected to every other, as the flock turns in unison it enters into this state of phase transition. Through freezing a moment in time of a simulated flock of particles, visually extracting and overlaying the proximity and velocity data of each member, this piece reveals the unseen bonds which choreograph the flock; capturing moments of compression and expansion as each particle reacts to those affecting on it.

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