Water Reaction, a project by Royal College of Art student Chao Chen, is an to create a material that reacts to external conditions with no human input required. Unlike other more high-tech approaches to this idea, Chen was inspired by a pinecone.
Guinness World Records has awarded the title of “largest 3D printed structure” to VULCAN, a temporary pavilion designed by the Beijing-based Laboratory for Creative Design (LCD). Made up of 1023 printed segments, structure was 9.08 meters long.
In this paper by integrating specialized expertise across disciplines of architecture, engineering, and material science, authors propose an algorithmic toolset to generate PolyBrick geometries that can be applied to various architectural typologies.
This paper presents a novel generative model that can create functional and expressive geometries by evolving volumetric gradient patterns. Using three case studies, authors demonstrate the key advantages of their approach.
This paper by Achim Menges, Jan Knippers et. al. pursues the development and construction of a robotically fabricated, lightweight timber plate system through a biologically informed, integrative computational design method.
Neri Oxman and MIT have developed programmable water-based biocomposites for digital design and fabrication. Named Aguahoja, the project has exhibited both a pavilion and a series of artifacts constructed from molecular components.
This paper by Jane Scott describes the framework behind the development of a series of knitted prototypes inspired by the biomimetic model of the hygromorph. Three moisture responsive pieces are described which use properties of wood veneer.
The ‘Swarm Light’ by rAndom International is an experimental light installation with a real ‚collective consciousness’ that subtly reacts to the viewer’s audible presence.
Crysalis (III) is a sculptural piece that explores cellular morphologies using parametric tools and composite materials. Designed and built by MATSYS, the sculpture takes direct inspiration from the organization of barnacle-like cells.
Commissioned by iGuzzini, Light Pollination consists of 20,000 LED lights embedded on the ends of fibre-optic cables. These gently pulse with light to mimic the phenomenon of bioluminescence in nature.
The embroidered artwork of Meredith Woolnough explores the beauty and fragility of nature. She uses a synthetic embroidery thread and a water-soluble fabric to create her work. The water-soluble fabric is what makes her work possible.
Porifera is a 3D-printed brass jewelry collection inspired by the forms of deep-sea dwelling glass sponges. These ancient sponges form reefs of glass with complex, porous architectures that are home to many species.
In this project by Kai Zhang, designer used bristol paper as construction material. After playing around with paper and exploring possible forms he used grasshopper to parametrically generate the lamp’s form.
The Radiolaria Bernotat Co are a family of eleven lamps made of 3D-knitted textile with glow-in-the-dark seams, inspired by the phenomenon of bioluminescence and the microscopic organisms discovered by German scientist Ernst Haeckel.
Civilization has struggled to understand this perfect geometry for thousands of years. In the 4th century, Plato believed that symmetry in nature was proof of universal forms; in 1952, the famous code-breaker Alan Turing wrote a book trying to explain how such patterns in nature could be formed.
In Kouhei Nakama’s production, Diffusion, programming is used to generate patterns on a human form. The central question is “Why do humans not have patterned skin like animals?”. To explore this concept, Nakama implements reaction-diffusion algorithms to generate patterns that resemble those found in plants and animals.
Affectionately named The Friendly Alien, by its designers Peter Cook and Colin Fournier, the Knusthaus Graz was built for the European Cultural Capital 2003 activities in Graz, Austria.
Following a seven month design competition with submissions from the world’s leading architecture firms, the National Media Council of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) selected Santiago Calatrava’s proposal for the UAE Pavilion at the Dubai World Expo 2020.
Designed by the Mediated Matter research group at the MIT Media Lab in collaboration with Prof. Fiorenzo Omenetto (TUFTS University) and Dr. James Weaver (WYSS Institute, Harvard University), The Silk Pavilion explores the relationship between digital and biological fabrication on product and architectural scales.
The research team at the Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) have taken morphological inspiration from the structure of the sea urchin and the sand dollar, both sea-bed invertebrates, to create what almost bears semblance to a floating bee hive, in a team combining architects, engineers, biologists, and palaeontologists.
A completely new geometric shape has been discovered by a group of researchers looking into the dynamics of cells that contribute toward the embryonic development and lead to the formation of human organs. Lehigh University professor, Javier Buceta, helped discover this geometric shape— the scutoid.
A team of MIT researchers has designed a breathable workout suit with ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete’s body heat and sweat. These flaps, which range from thumbnail- to finger-sized, are lined with live microbial cells that shrink and expand in response to changes in humidity.
Researchers at MIT, Harvard University and Seoul National University have engineered a soft autonomous robot that moves via peristalsis, crawling across surfaces by contracting segments of its body, much like an earthworm. The robot, made almost entirely of soft materials, is remarkably resilient.
Find out how human bones inspired the Eiffel Tower through the design principle of structural hierarchy.
Navicula is derived from nature, in this case from one of the many microscopic diatoms that float around in the oceans. The flowing, segmented form is shipped as kitset and assembled on site with push-in nylon clips. The thin curved pieces of CNC-cut bamboo plywood create a flowing structure
The bacterial flagellum has become an iconic example of the evidence against modern Darwinian theory as well as the evidence for intelligent design. Stephen Meyer, Scott Minnich and others scientists and scholars explore the facts about this amazing piece of nanotechnology, first made famous by biologist Michael Behe.
Dr. Mirtsch Wölbstrukturierung GmbH in Berlin has developed an innovative process for producing vaulted materials. The bionic structure is relatively easy to install in metals. The sheet metal is rolled over a mill equipped with lined braces. The varying levels of pressure cause the metal to ‘plop in’.
THE DIATOMIST is a short documentary about Klaus Kemp, master of the Victorian art of diatom arrangement. Diatoms are single cell algae that create jewel-like glass shells around themselves. Microscopists of the Victorian era would arrange them into complex patterns, invisible to the naked eye but spectacular when viewed under magnification.
Researchers at MIT, Harvard University and Seoul National University have engineered a soft autonomous robot that moves via peristalsis, crawling across surfaces by contracting segments of its body, much like an earthworm. The robot, made almost entirely of soft materials, is remarkably resilient.
Radiolaria lets you manipulate a web of connected cells to create a huge variety of biologically-inspired patterns. Each object you create starts as a basic hexagonal mesh which you can change as much, or as little, as you want with a variety of tools.