2021 Joint Mathematics Meetings
Nervous System
Artists
Statement
Nervous System is a generative design studio that works at the intersection of science, art, and technology. Designers Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg explore how simulations of natural processes can be used in design and coupled with digital fabrication to create one-of-a-kind, customized products.
Artworks
Corollaria Railing
379 x 659 x 411 cm
steel
2020
This algorithmically-generated, lasercut steel railing was created for the new Nervous System studio building in Palenville, NY. The design morphs continuously along the 40 ft (12.2 m) long railing moving through different modes of pattern. Beginning at the bottom of the staircase, waves of dense cells shift into rings, then spirals and finally to large scale radial cells. The patterns recall morphologies seen in cross sections of plant tissues.
It is generated through an optimization process of anisotropic centroidal voronoi diagrams. The cells optimize their distribution in response to a morphic background metric.