Stories

Nest

Irrigation tubes and zip ties

Design by Hsiao Yu-Chih 蕭有志 and Doug Johnston

Direction by Hsiao Yu-Chih, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, Shih-Chien University 實踐大學, Taipei 臺北

Made April 21, 2025 by:
Calyn Ellacer (Studio Art, ‘25)
Addy Sharkness (Studio Art, ’27)
Naveen Shastri (Leavey School of Business, MBA program)
Sophia Irinco (Ethnic Studies, ’26)
Iris Chen (Communications, ’25)
Heather Clydesdale (Art & Art History)

In this event, Professor Hsiao on Zoom led a group of SCU students and faculty in the Dowd sculpture studio to make “Nest.” Participants first constructed a large wood scaffolding. Then, they wove irrigation tubing around the supports, fastening them with zip ties. The project necessitated working collaboratively and simultaneously, with participants bracing supports, feeding tubes, and yanking ties tight. (The “zip!” sound is surprisingly satisfying.) As Nest took shape, the participants morphed from a motley crew of individuals to a creative and constructive team. At the two-hour mark, it was time to remove the scaffolding and see if Nest could stand on its own. Everyone held their breath as each support was carefully dismantled and slid out from the structure one-by-one, like Jenga with six-foot-long two-by-fours! In the end, Nest stood prettily, and participants were reminded how gratifying it is to come together and make something physical and palpable in real time. 

Hsiao Yu-Chih calls his art and architectural endeavors “Megaweaving.” In this, he pushes aesthetics by setting limits on media, favoring discarded and surplus materials found through social network exchanges that he creates. In practice, Megaweaving brings people together as makers and users. As an architectural and artistic product, it establishes new relationships between people and their environment. 

Nest is on view in the first floor of Dowd for a limited time. 

The Megaweaving event was funded by the Center for Arts and Humanities (CAH), supported by the SCU Student Art League (SCUSAL) and the School of Engineering’s Frugal Innovation Hub (FIH), and organized by CAH Fellow Heather Clydesdale.