Chuck Hoberman
Encyclopedia
Chuck Hoberman is an inventor of folding toy
s and structures, most notably the Hoberman sphere
. He won the Chrysler Design Award
for Innovation and Design in 1997 and was a finalist for the 2000 Smithsonian National Design Award.
In addition to toys such as the Hoberman sphere,the largest of which resides at Liberty Science Center
in Jersey City, New Jersey, Hoberman created the BrainTwist
, a hard plastic tetrahedron
that folds, stellates, and becomes self-dual while having a component that rotates similarly to a Rubiks Cube. Likewise, Chuck Hoberman's Pocket Flight Ring is a folding, throwable toy resembling a chakram
.
Hoberman also has designed folding architectural structures like the Expanding Hypar (1997) at the California Museum of Science and Industry, the Hoberman Arch
, the centerpiece of the medals plaza for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics
, to a retractable dome featured at the World's Fair
2000
in Hanover, Germany
. His artwork has been exhibited at international museum
s including New York's Museum of Modern Art
, the Centre Georges Pompidou
in Paris
, and the Mycal Otaru Bay in Hokkaidō
, Japan
.
Hoberman has also created the Expandagon Construction System, a kind of construction toy.
at Brown University
, and went on to earn a Bachelor's degree
in sculpture
from Cooper Union
and a Master's degree
in engineering
from Columbia University
.
In 1995, he co-founded Hoberman Designs with his wife and business partner, Carolyn Hoberman.
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s and structures, most notably the Hoberman sphere
Hoberman sphere
A Hoberman sphere is a structure invented by Chuck Hoberman that resembles a geodesic dome, but is capable of folding down to a fraction of its normal size by the scissor-like action of its joints...
. He won the Chrysler Design Award
Chrysler Design Award
The Chrysler Design Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals in innovative works of architecture and design which significantly influenced modern American culture.- 2002 :*Red Burns*Mildred Friedman*Steve Jobs*Phyllis Lambert*Murray Moss...
for Innovation and Design in 1997 and was a finalist for the 2000 Smithsonian National Design Award.
Creations
Liberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center is an interactive science museum and learning center located in Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.The center, which first opened in 1993 as New Jersey's first major state science museum, has science exhibits, the largest IMAX Dome theater in the United States,...
in Jersey City, New Jersey, Hoberman created the BrainTwist
BrainTwist
The Hoberman BrainTwist is a 3D mechanical puzzle designed and marketed by Chuck Hoberman's company Hoberman Designs. The puzzle is in the same family as the Rubik's Cube and other puzzles that involve manipulating and scrambling colored face elements with the goal of returning them to their...
, a hard plastic tetrahedron
Tetrahedron
In geometry, a tetrahedron is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, three of which meet at each vertex. A regular tetrahedron is one in which the four triangles are regular, or "equilateral", and is one of the Platonic solids...
that folds, stellates, and becomes self-dual while having a component that rotates similarly to a Rubiks Cube. Likewise, Chuck Hoberman's Pocket Flight Ring is a folding, throwable toy resembling a chakram
Chakram
The chakram , sometimes called a war quoit, is a throwing weapon from India. Its shape is of a flat metal hoop with a sharp outer edge from in diameter...
.
Hoberman also has designed folding architectural structures like the Expanding Hypar (1997) at the California Museum of Science and Industry, the Hoberman Arch
Hoberman Arch
The Hoberman Arch was the centerpiece of the Olympic Medals Plaza in downtown Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Following the Olympics the arch was moved to the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park where it is now, along with the Olympic cauldron, one the main highlights and an...
, the centerpiece of the medals plaza for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
, to a retractable dome featured at the World's Fair
World's Fair
World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
2000
Expo 2000
Expo 2000 was a World's Fair held in Hanover, Germany from Thursday, June 1 to Tuesday, October 31, 2000. It was located on the Hanover fairground , which is famous for hosting CeBIT...
in Hanover, Germany
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. His artwork has been exhibited at international museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s including New York's Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, the Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and the Mycal Otaru Bay in Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Hoberman has also created the Expandagon Construction System, a kind of construction toy.
Education
Hoberman studied liberal artsLiberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, and went on to earn a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
from Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
and a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Business
In 1990, he formed Hoberman Associates.In 1995, he co-founded Hoberman Designs with his wife and business partner, Carolyn Hoberman.