Location: London Description:
''This project was developed around the design problem of minimal surface structures, in order to create an alternative algorithmic method for generating minimal surfaces as well as for building them from modular components. The alternative characteristic of the study comes from the different approach of the project, as opposed to the existing ones in the field, by using the principle of simulation of virtual soap films in order to generate minimal surface geometries, while optimizing them for a modular fabrication system. The main difference in approach would come from the bottom-up algorithmic strategy of not starting with a predefined topology, as in the case of the dynamic relaxation method for example, but simulating an iterative growth process.
The algorithm is materialized through a concept derived from the principle behind the state of equilibrium of natural organisms, in strict correlation with the conservation of energy. Each iteration is programmed to update the relationships between the components of the system, reapply the defined rules and minimize the energy, in our case the tensional energy in order to achieve a state of equilibrium. From a cellular point of view, if we were to consider the particles as cells or molecules and the springs as the forces between them, the proposed system reaches an emergent quality of self-organization similar to one found in nature.
From the fabrication point of view, the project is focused on modularity and repetition while creating very complex differentiated minimal surface geometries.The prototype is following a series of different fabrication systems that have been tested. The final piece is made of 1936 laser-cut transparent acrilyc components, the equivalent of 121 basic surface segments each generated by a set of only 16 different shapes.''
