LO: Computational Fabrication

Silk Pavilion

By Mediated Matter Group at MIT Media Lab

I learned about Mediated Matter through a Netflix documentary series called Abstract. Since then, their work at the MIT Media Lab has become my inspiration. I admire this Silk Pavilion project because of the creator’s interplay between design, biology, and computer technology. The creators were inspired by the silk worms’ inherent ability to generate synthetic structures, which they hope to utilize as a building block to bridge the natural world and the built world. The team began by studying the spinning pattern of silkworms and then used it to design larger structures with the support of CNC and CAD. Later, they deployed and guided the silkworms to complete the structure that they designed. The algorithm that generated the work studied individual silkworms and represented their biological pattern through computation. We always talk about biomimicry in design classes, but I never thought about how one can introduce the living subject of mimicry into the manufacturing process, which I find fascinating. Finally, the creators achieved their artistic vision by combining new research methods, cutting-edge technology, and biological knowledge to imagine a future where things, people, and the environment can live in harmony.

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