Elenco Rhinoceros Mini-Beest Kit User Manual

CONTENTS

02 Giant Beest "Animaris Rhinoceros

Transport"-The secret of its birth

10 Witness the birth of the newest artificial

life form, the strandbeest!

Appearing at the coast of the

Netherlands, Animaris Gubernare

16

How to Assemble and Use the Supplement

Jansen pulls the Rhinoceros Transport
to test its walking mechanism.

JR. SCIENTIST

2

Giant Beest

"Animaris Rhinoceros Transport"

-The Secret of Its Birth

This kit was designed after "Animaris Rhinoceros Transport". It is the largest
Strandbeest in history with 6m in length, 5m in width, 4.7 m in height, and 3.2 t
in weight. The beest walks by the wind caught in the wing like panel attached
at the top. How did this beest come about? We are going to search the
secret of its birth.

Cooperation/ Theo Jansen [www.strandbeest.com] Media Force Ltd. [theojansen.net]
Photograph/Loek van der Klis [[e-mail]]
Text/Gakken Editorial Team

Theo Jansen
Jansen was born in 1948, in
Scheveningen in the
Netherlands. He studied
physics at the Delft
University of Technology
and was involved in many
projects that involved both
art and technology. He has
been creating a series of
kinetic art, Strandbeests,
since 1990. Today, Jansen
is one of the internationally
recognized artists.

MINI RHINOCEROS

3

It all began from a

wooden pallet

Jansen started creating the Strandbeests in 1990. The
history of the beests is categorized in several periods.
From 1997 to 2001 is called the Lignatum (wood in
Dutch) period. Jansen experimented with wooden
pallets as the principal construction material.

The wooden pallets that Jansen utilized are those
common pallets for the forklifts that are often seen at a
warehouse or a manufacturing plant. He noticed the
pallets' sturdy structure that can withstand pressures
from all directions and substituted for the
plastics pipes.

At the time, Jansen was testing a
theory that the friction at the leg joints
can be minimized by changing the
overall length of the legs. The longer a
leg becomes, the smoother a leg
operates. However, longer legs made a
beest into a giant and the plastic pipes
tend to collapse as the beest becomes
bigger.

JR. SCIENTIST

4

CG version of Animaris Rhinoceros Tabloi:
The height of this design is an advantage
by receiving stronger wind and
minimizing the joint friction. Height 4.5m,
length 6m, and width 4m.

CG version of the first generation
Rhinoceros, Animaris Rhinoceros Vulgaris

He needed to find out either a different structural designs or an
alternative materials. He was attracted to the wooden pallets.
Jansen calls this particular deviation "an affair". He was

Animaris Spissa Carta: This beest is
made of cardboard. Height 0.3m, length

0.4m, and width 0.4 m.

seduced by wood as a building

material instead of his long time

companion, plastic pipes.

The series of beests created in

this period had quite a different

and unique look among all the

beests in history. The heavy

and bulky structures are

associated with the image

of the rhinoceros. The

name "Animaris

Rhinoceros" was given

to this series.
First a prototype was

developed using CG

(computer graphics)

technology, then the real

Animaris Rhinoceros

Lignatus was constructed

using wooden pallets.

Though this is made from a

new material, wood, Theo

Jensen's 13 holy numbers are

used throughout the

calculations of mobile parts of

the structure.

Thus, despite its unique

appearance, Animaris

Rhinoceros truly belongs in the

beest family. Later, the original

Rhinoceros Lignatus series

evolved into the Animaris

Rhinoceros Transport with steel

bone structures.

MINI RHINOCEROS

5

The Animaris Rhinoceros Transport was tried out
in 2004. This tryout version was developed as the
final model in the Rhinoceros family after Jansen's
affair with wood was over. Powder coated steel
was chosen for the skeletal structure due to its
sturdiness. The surface of the body is coated with
polyester. The wheeled feet can support the
massive weight while reducing friction with the
ground.

There is a space for people to ride inside. Jansen
calls this a "transportation vehicle in the tundra".

The tryout took place at north Leiden, A city in
the southern Netherlands. The usual tryout spot,
the beach, was not ideal for this massive structure
because there was a likelihood of getting stuck in
the sand. The long runway of the former
Valkenburg Airport was chosen because the vast
clear field and hard leveled ground would bring
the best wind condition for this experiment.

The Transport was taken out from a container to
the runway. Initially, Jansen himself pulled the
beest for a trial walk so that he could make sure
the joints functioned and checked for any
troubles. Everything worked fine! The wind
started to pick up. The massive feet started move.
The beest's feet moved lighter than expected.
The beest gained so much speed that some of the
junctions gave way!

Receiving the wind from behind on the
wing, the Rhinoceros walks effortlessly.

It was a complete success! The largest beest in
history, "Animaris Rhinoceros Transport" marked a
significant footstep in the history of evolution.

JR. SCIENTIST

6

Tryout on the runway of a former airport

The mighty backside.

MINI RHINOCEROS

7

Currently, the Transport is
stationed in the canal for
display.

permanent exhibit
at a park

JR. SCIENTIST

8

and Now…