Lauren Dreier, Veronika Irvine, Yinong Tao, Tian Yu, Stefana Parascho, Sigrid Adriaenssens
The research interest of the Form Finding Lab* lies in the mechanical interaction between flexible, semiflexible and rigid surface systems and static and dynamic loading and the advancement of shape generation approaches based on analytical formulations, numerical form finding, optimization, fluid/structure interaction models and machine-learning techniques.
The CREATE Lab explores the relationship between digital fabrication and design. The research addresses the role of machines in architectural design and methods for closer integration of these physical tools with digital design processes.
The authors would like to acknowledge SEAS Project X Funding* and GCN Robelarch Funding.
*Princeton University
Inspired by a traditional bobbin lace pattern, ‘torchon ground’, elastic strips are interlaced to create a gradient of out-of-plane behavior. The key structural element is a bigon which consists of two strips deformed so as to intersect each other at a fixed angle at each end. Numerical modeling of each strip as a Kirchhoff rod shows that the 3D shape of a bigon depends on the width-to-thickness ratio of the component strips and the angle between strips. In this sculpture, the strip width and thickness are constant and the angle is varied along one axis. Intersecting twisted pairs in this torchon ground pattern form curved polygon cells with non-vanishing and tunable Gaussian curvature through the coupling of geometry and elasticity.