Wooden Mangour Dodecahedron and Screen
I was introduced to the traditional Saudi woodworking technique called “Mangour” while studying in London. I was lucky to learn about its design and historical importance from Jonathan Horning, and was able to visit Ahmad Angawi in his studio while he was creating his EPIC commision for the British Museum.
I was very inspired by the elegant use of material and efficient construction methods Mangour makes use of. Not only is it a very efficient and beautiful system, but the way you approach the geometric design is unique!
Mangour is based on a simple lattice, a square grid that expands and contracts in specific ways to express four and eight fold symmetry in the negative space. It’s a very fun way to design, and of course, I wanted to see if it’s unique approach to pattern creation could be translated into other symmetries.
I was thrilled to find that the core conceits required to design Mangour in fourfold symmetry had some very interesting implications in three and most especially in five fold symmetry. I just love moving design ideas from symmetry to symmetry, even when it fails there is usually a very interesting reason for the failure. some brittle conceptual thread to follow that could present a new pattern, or a new piece of knowledge. Geometry is so cool.
This line of inquiry was a portion of my work for my Degree Show at PSTA and resulted in the creation of a wooden “Mangour” Dodecahedron expressing Fivefold symmetry on the faces, and a tenfold Screen making use of three pentagonal tiles treated in the Mangour fashion. Here I’ll share some of my design process, and the construction of these two pieces.
