LookingOutwards-03

LO 3 – Computational Fabrication

I am inspired by Elisa Stroyk’s “Wooden Carpet” (2009) because of the fascinating form, which is a hybrid surface that combines textiles and furniture. The form and material highly contrast each other, as a rug is typically thought of as soft and flexible while wood is more rigid and hard. I think that the way that these properties have blended in this project is quite interesting. In terms of the technical creation of the work, I believe that the geometric shapes were algorithmically developed, laser-cut out of wood, and then bonded to a textile backing.

Stroyk’s work is driven by her interest in material and presumptions about material, rethinking form and function in everyday objects. The flexibility and modularity of this project reflect that though parametric 3D fabrication involves rules, there are infinite possibilities and combinations.

LO-03: Computational Fabrication

The project I chose was Cumulus from the SOFTlab. This project first captured my attention because of its intricate design and overall aesthetic use of lighting. Upon learning more about Cumulus, I admired how interactive it was and how it is able to link sound and light together. I thought it was a unique aspect since it blends two of the five human senses, hearing and seeing. To create this installation, the creator pieced together over 200 acrylic segments with over 100 3D printed joints into a cloud-like shape with a network of LED strands inside. The interactiveness, that is linking sound to light, was achieved by building a user interface programmed with Processing. Like other projects from SOFTlab, Cumulus also takes on a unique, complex shape and is enhanced by lighting but this time with a combination of sound to achieve its final outcome.

Cumulus (SOFTlab, 2015) is an interactive installation that reacts to sound with light.

Looking Outward 03 – ASOS

The project I am looking at is done by Advanced Synthesis Option Studios’s Dana Cupkova, in collaboration with Nina Schatz, Nana Choi, Kimberly McDonald, Gloriana Gonzales, and Avanti Dabholkar. The projects, “Epiflow: Towards Resiliency of Post-Soviet City Networks” and “Other Natures,” drew me in because of their attitude towards environment and ecological sustainability. I admire that they accept the damage to our biosphere and use it as an opportunity to better our architectural practices. Through simulation and iteration, they are able to test designs against the variables of the universe. I have no idea about the algorithms, although I would assume that they use them to simulate various conditionals: if “x” happens, then what? Each artist brings their own touch to the overall project. However, it seems that for the most part those indivdiual touches are more about the how each piece of the puzzle functions than about the pieces themselves.

https://soa.cmu.edu/asos-cupkova

OTHER NATURES (S14) | Nana Choi (B.Arch 2015) — **OTHER NATURES** (S14) | Nana Choi (B.Arch 2015)

Looking Outwards – 3

Neri Oxman and MIT developed a collection of Programmable Water-Based Biocomposites for Digital Design and Fabrication across Scales called Aguahoja. This is a project that explored how natural materials that have been put to waste by humans can be digitally designed and computationally fabricated by 3D printers or other robots. Through this project, Oxman and her team hoped to develop a solution to the vicious cycle of material extraction and obsolescence through the creation of biopolymer composites.
This collection is digitally designed and computationally fabricated by 3D printers or other robots made with available materials on earth- materials within trees, insect exoskeletons , apples, and bones- in hopes of avoiding depleting more of Earth’s materials.
https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/aguahoja/overview/

I admire this project for its mindfulness towards the environment and the effort and dedication that has been put into creating each piece and subpart in order to think of a more sustainable tomorrow

Looking Outwards 03: Computational Fabrication

G3DP2 is a newly designed additive manufacturing technology that is 3D printed to be a revolutionary instability and optical implementations. This new glass takes away uncertain variables and gives users and designers greater control of material and experience. G3DP2 is able to be altered for users’ needs in terms of thermal control to molding. To advance a traditional material such as glass is easily overlooked because of the long satisfaction we’ve already had with the material. However, with this, there is greater “flow control, spatial accuracy and precision, and faster production rates with continuous deposition of up to 30kg of molten glass”.

The algorithm and idea behind the new design and structure of G3DP2 are based on the preferences which are the manufacturing platform and structural system. The “geometric expression” is the column surface area, number of lobes, and the turning radius of the printer. A lighting system inside the column is also programmed to move with kaleidoscope-like patterns. The work of The Mediated Matter group is very similar to projects like this. They are inspired for natural design in nature and use computational design and various digital fabrication skills to mimic natural patterns and processes. G3DP2 is an accurate depiction of The Mediated Matter group’s goals and focus.

LO-03 (computer fabrication)

Computer fabrication in the current digital age is becoming increasingly commonplace as fabrication tools are becoming exponentially more complex than ever. For this LO, I will be discussing the “BLOOM” works by John Edmark. I think this project is an excellent marriage of the human body and art. The algorithms I assume are used to procedurally generate the form of these “blooming” sculptures. But the real magic happens through the combination of rotation speed and manipulating it to match the frame rates of the human eyes. As we can only see at a certain “refresh rate”, the rotation speed of the sculpture can affect the way the sculpture moves or morphs due to the speed in which we see each cell/module, creating unique frame animation styled sculptures. I had the privilege of seeing these works in real life and I can attest that they are quite mesmerizing.

LO – 03 – Meshu

One project that is incredibly inspiring to me is Meshu. Meshu is an on-demand business created by Rachel Binx and Sha Hwang. The company makes custom jewelry with a 3-D printer.
The algorithmic technique used in this project is meant to generate graphs in 3D form. These graphs are based off the locations in which a person has traveled.
This project really caught my eye because I had never thought about the implimentation of coding in the fashion world. I have always loved the fashion industry and with this project it is clear to me how endless the options are. Meshu really opened my mind to the plethora of possibilities of coding applications within this industry.

LO- Computational Fabrication

A project of computational fabrication I admire is Michael Hansmeyer and Benjamin Dillenburger’s “Digital Grotesque I.” “Digital Grotesque I” is an installation that resulted as a result of Hansmeyer’s desire to explore the forms that could be created by 3D printed algorithms. I admire the intricacy and sculptural qualities of the space created because as an architecture student, I want to eventually be in a position where I can design architecture with similar visual qualities. Hansmeyer says that “every detail of the architecture is generated through customized algorithms, without any manual intervention.” As such, I suppose that the algorithms generate permutations of forms based on size and angle, that are affected by where they are generated in the model. I think that the creator’s artistic sensibilities are reflected in the intricate detail of the final result. The creator wanted to use algorithms to generate forms that are “between chaos and order, both natural and the artificial, neither foreign nor familiar.” The intricate sculptural definition of the resulting space reflects that immensely.

Video about the making of Digital Grotesque I

The artwork I find particularly inspirational is “Google Eye” created by Andrej Boleslavsky that visualizes Google Analystics data. I am fascinated by how different angles of viewing this artwork may lead to disparate implications. Observing it horizontally, we only see a mountain-like region that goes high and low, while from the top of it we see a human eye that indicates “how we are observed by a complex computational system”, inspiring me to consider how to combine several messages in one single artwork. In contrast to numbers and reports, Google Eye directly visualizes them for the audience and directly represents a one-year-cycle, leading us to reflect on the extend to which we are monitored by the system and how much “privacy” we are left with.

The artist constructed a model that generated by a custom made patch and transformed the dataset into valid model to print them out through 3D printing. While attempting to raise awareness of the invasion from information systems, the artists also realizes that this form enables the audience to gain better insight and makes the hidden patterns obvious.

Looking Outward-03

This project creates jewelry out of voice by mimicking the shape of the audio’s sound wave. I like this simple yet unexpected way of transforming information. On an abstract level, this project makes use of synesthesia to bridge different sensations, in this case, the hearing and the touching. I admire the connection it builds because offers artists and designers another tool for their creative expression toolset.

The algorithm should be quite simple. The input will be an audio file. Then, the algorithm processes the file into a sound wave, turns it into a shape, and renders a form base on the shape. Lastly, the form would be sent to the 3D printer.

The creator’s artistic sensibilities are not directly manifest in the form but embedded in it. In the project, the role of the creator is more about creating more options for the users to play with.