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Silk Pavillion
Site: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/silk-pavilion/overview/
This project is part of Mediated Matter of the MIT Media Lab. It exploresthe interaction between digital fabrication and natural fabrication by mimicing the silk thread structure of a silkworm’scocoon through a Computer-Numerically Controlled (CNC) machine and then having silkworms create their own silk structures from that primary, fabricated structure. Inspired by how silkworms can create their silk structure through one continuous
line of thread, an algorithm was created to mimic the single continuous style of the natural silkworm pattern and the variation of density of the fabricated threads. 26 panels of this silk scaffold was made and put together to make a dome. Then, silkworms were put into the dome structure to fill in the gaps with their own biological silk structures.
What admired me the most about this project was how mechanically fabricated structures can work alongside biologically, naturally created structures. It demonstrates how mechanic and natural physical worlds can work together to create beautiful outcomes. Another interesting aspect about this project was how because these two drastically different worlds worked together, they created a beautiful, artistic outcome. By generating an algorithm, scientists were able to mimic the natural world.