It is an interesting thing when entirely artificial algorithms start to generate forms that look natural in origin.
One method for achieving this is known as generative design. It is a process that starts by simulating forces on a virtual object. The stress from the forces is then used as a map to remove excess material in specific areas while still keeping the part intact where it needs to be.
This process can be done many times to produce a catalog of results to choose from. Each result is unique though satisfies an optimal balance between weight and strength.
One such result of a generative design is this golden shelf bracket shown above. Although a shelf bracket is a very simple object in everyday life it can illustrate the generative effect every well.
This idea and installation was part of the Sensebellum Interactive Art Pop-Up at the Periodic Gallery in South Lake Union, Seattle, WA.
Nestled next to the printer was a set of living palm fronds, fossilized ferns, and the bone of an animal. Each item underscored the idea that although spanning eons of time, and coming to be arranged in different ways, the natural and digital worlds rhyme.
Each print would take just over 3 hours and was functional as is. When finished the docents would award the finished item as a souvenir to any lucky patron of the pop-up present at that moment.
