LO 03: Computational Fabrication

Artwork: Thallus
Creator: Zaha Hadid Architects

Thallus is a complex 3D-printed sculpture. The form is mesmerizing as an open, expending, and curved piece. The “walls” of the sculpture are created by intricate webbings of curves resembling roots. Not only does this create an aesthetic design, the complexity of it truly impressed me. The generation of the art was done through extensive computational geometry. Additionally, more algorithms had to be created for the printing robots to create the spiraling effect and create the artwork in a single piece. A large amount of research was done by the Zaha Hadid to not only create the design with computations, but also to enable the actual printing. The artistry of the designers is apparent with the expansive, yet open spiral that creates a flow to the work. Every part of the piece perfectly coincides with each other to create a balance of elegance and abstractness. The art itself is impressive, however, the most substantial part to me is the complex mathematics and robotic algorithms that actually allowed for the design to come to life in the 3D format.

/http://zaha-hadid.com/design/thallus-installation/