PolyTess | ... - Arpil 2007 "Planar Polygonal approximation of Nurbs surfaces" 

Exploration : MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY™ Design, Research & Computation: Marc Fornes

Very approximative "Stability" mapping based on the number of connexions for each panels to its neighbours: - GREEN: connexion to three neighbours at least... - YELLOW: connexion to two neighbours... - RED: connexion to a single neighbour only...

SUPERSTRUCTURE "A superstructure is an extension of an existing structure or baseline. (...) The word itself is a combination of super (Latin for above, in addition) and structure (also from Latin meaning to build, to heap up)." (ie wikipedia.org)

Routine: - plotting flat polygonal surfaces onto the host surface --- creating a non air tight skin system - a secondary searching algorythm --- looking for intersection points as assembly nodes for a extra structure / superstructure...

Resultant properties: 1/ all the components are intersecting with one neighbour at least which allows them to be connected via that point without requiring extra complex bridging through gaps and difference between the panels of heights, angles, ect... though some sort of "continuity check" algorythm will be required in order to identify larger autonomous clusters which wouldn't be connected to the whole and therefore structurally failling... 2/ the resultant skeletal system - driven from a simple neighbourhood condition and linking all the connexion nodes with the inputed point set - is looking very similar to leafs structures...

"resultant" biomimicry from tests on a geoemtrical relationship...

FITNESS CRITERIA is probably where - within any morphogenetic or form finding processes - "subjectivity" is the most "exposed"... recent trends are pushing back towards the return of SUSTAINABILITY as the latest alibi for form: data set extracted from environmental analysis software package are directly - or yet still often via old school Excel sheets - feeding back parametric models... or facades aperature systems are designed according to optimization after to arrays of vectors simulating precise rays of light, etc... fair enough as far as sustainability is probably the most current anti-polemic marketing tool whenever politic is involved... though more worrying in certain case where it becomes an other escapism root to the designer responsability of decision making...

"PROBLEM CARING" as design tool versus "PROBLEM SOLVING" as optimization tool...

As any young practice interested in "depth-less spaces" by introducing continuity of surfaces - most often resulting in "complex shapes/forms/ornementations/etc... - I've very early on been introduced to VALUE ENGINEERING and like any constraints V.E. can be turned at your advantage in terms of design tool: planar within curved? "In computer science, COMPUTATIONAL GEOMETRY is the study of algorithms to solve problems stated in terms of geometry." (ie Wikipedia)

Research premises:  morphological varaition of components through difference in terms number of verticies: from 3 to 7-8...

Note - the assembly isn't a perfect 2.5D packing packing as not air tight.