MONUMENTAL MACHINES
OVERVIEW
The principles of mechanical clockworks, Orbital Drive TM can basically be scaled up from the size of a wristwatch to monumental clocks with cogwheels of 4-meter diameters, as long as space, transportation, and installation are possible.
Florian Schlumpf has made several stunning projects for different applications and in different sizes in the past years, all of them with monumental dimensions.
Monumental installations are unique pieces of Art or Time. A team of artists, engineers, mechanics, and logistics people make these kinds of oversize projects possible.
DETSKI MIR MOSCOW
In 2014, Florian Schlumpf worked with the Russian Pedrodvorets Watch Factory to develop and build a monumental clock with a twelve-meter-long pendulum machine and cogwheels up to four meters in diameter for the traditional Moscow Detski Mir Shopping Mall.
This project unveiled many new technologies, one of them being the Orbital Drive™, which allows the entire clockwork to move steadily, with only the anchor wheel stopping intermittently to preserve the kinetic energy of the movement.
FOUR QUADRANT MACHINE
The monumental installation of a Four-Quadrant Time Machine followed at Baselworld 2015, which stood in the inner courtyard of the famous watch and clock fair.
Its five meters size was big enough to walk through, inviting the visitor to listen to the magical sound of four identical but non-synchronous Time Machines.
The visitor could also watch the movement of 24 wheels rotating steadily, with only the anchor wheels being stopped and released by the pendulum.
SPHERES I
“SPHERES” was a project for an Art Exhibition in Switzerland.
A group of huge metal spheres swinging in a chaotic way and giving the impression of massive chimes.
Five individually connected layers are carrying different groups the spheres. Influenced by wind and magnetic impulses, they move in a chaotic pattern. While certain spheres are immediately standing still, others accelerate or slow down, a fascinating entertainment for each visitor.
The dimension of the installation allows people to stand underneath and marvel at the play of the spheres.
EXPLORit FLIMS
In 2018, Florian Schlumpf was asked to build a monumental installation for a temporary technology park for children, located in the Swiss Alps, in Flims/Grisons, where children will be able to experience and witness the ingenious application of science and technology in a mechanical environment.
The project was developed by a Swiss entrepreneur, who has already successfully built several such parks in the past.
The installation was positioned in a spiral arrangement over two floors, allowing visitors to overlook the entire installation and interact with wheels, gears, and transmissions around the lounge cinebar.
The project has been realised by Florian Schlumpf in less than 6 months and was one of the highlights of EXPLORit Flims.
PENDULUM MACHINE
In 2020, Florian Schlumpf extended the portfolio of his monumental machines with SPHERES II.
20 metal spheres receiving impulses from a motor move slowly up and down.
A pure kinetic installation without time indication.
THE CREATOR
Florian’s career path began when he graduated from Lucerne’s art school
in 1980 as a sculptor. After travelling
the world for two years on a self-made motorcycle, he decided to further his education in the field of mechanics and attended Zentralschweizer Technikum in Lucerne, earning a diploma in mechani- cal engineering in 1988.
«Every innovative product I developed in my life arose from a problem for which no solution existed», Schlumpf explains. One innovation was derived from a personal experience. «When I climbed a steep mountain pass with my old bicycle and was forced to dismount because there were no gears low enough for pedalling all the way, I suddenly had the idea for the «mountain drive» bottom- bracket gearing system.
Ten years later, Schlumpf developed a hub for unicycles, which is in use by the world’s top unicyclists in races to reach speeds of 40 km/h and more, as well as unicycles for daily commuting. In 2011, the patents and production rights of the bicycle gearing system were acquired by a German group, opening the door to new opportunities for Schlumpf to ex- plore new fields of interest in clocks and precision mechanisms. The first Time Machine, the TM1, was introduced at BaselWorld in 2014 as a purely artistic experience with no indication for time.
Discover the philosophy, appreciation and the spirit transcending time with our Florian Schlumpf Time Machines™
The Moving Mechanics Company™
Sihlbruggstrasse 107
6340 Baar, Switzerland
+41 41 500 0808
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About us
To all the contemplators, adventurers, changemakers and good spirits out there: welcome to The Moving Mechanics Company™, a place where passion, creativity and savoir faire come together to inspire through unique kinetic works of wonder.
The Moving Mechanics Company is a high-tech, contemporary and truly extraordinary fusion of artists, creatives and experts, collectively catering to the universal and timeless passions that shape our life. Elevating the greatest luxury of mankind to an art: Time.
Time that can be felt and appreciated through our works of wonder, at leisure, for full enjoyment and explicitly without being dictated by it. We leave the trade of making time pieces for people who need to read the time to others. We do not cater towards telling the time – that’s why hands on our art and time machines will always be optional.
We believe in the art of creativity, craft, science, and life enriching relationships. All expressed in our unique designs, the precision of technology and harmonious mechanical art is inherently visible in our machines. We draw inspiration from the wondrous world around us. From the world of motorcycling, race cars and planes but also sophisticated design, erotic and romance to spiritual enlightenment, nature and the universe at large. Paying attention to even the smallest details, resulting in fascination and magic unveiled to only those who learn how see that everything connects to everything else. In life, in our world and in our kinetic works of wonder.
Our mechanical time, art pieces and art machines add the most unique and incredible style to interior designs, private homes, corporate lobbies, hotels and architectural masterpieces . They are genuine, authentic, reserved to be marvelled at for the selected few. The Moving Mechanics Company is a representation of mechanical lifestyle at its finest.
The Moving Mechanics Company is both a physical place and a mental space for people who have a hunger for exploration and an adventurous spirit, the pioneers and are changemakers who can see, feel and live beyond time.
We engage with like-minded people all around the world, from enthusiasts who cherish innovation, to collectors of art machines; from corporates looking to enrich their office and lobby spaces to interior architects choosing select pieces carefully for their esteemed clients.
Our endless search for excellence pushes boundaries, continuously enhancing our technology, mechanisms, kinetic and dynamic movements, materials, and commercial models to bring the timeless enjoyment of art and time machines to the world.
Making the near impossible, possible. Refined. Precise. Passionate. Our philosophy is simple. From small precision mechanisms to monumental installations. From Switzerland to the world.
Each and every time and art machine is complex, intriguing, breathtakingly beautiful and of highest quality. No compromise. Deliberately not for everyone, but for the ones who see the beauty in time with no beginnings and no end.
All our pieces are a true reflection of what The Moving Mechanics Company and our artists stand for. Our place and space are where progress meets tradition and mechanics merges with craftsmanship. We are grateful for the people in our universe and celebrate the relationships with our customers, partners, and our own team.
We have partners in Dubai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Geneva and Monaco.
Welcome to our family, where the appreciation for life transcends time. Here’s to our invitation to Become Timeless.