Thursday, September 6, 2012

SLUG IT OUT

I've had this at the back of my mind for a couple of weeks now.  Panellise a double curvature surface, use Excel to randomise heights & or angles of curtain panels.  Could be interesting.



The surface is inspired by something Zach did a while back.  Create a torus on an inclined plane and cut most of it away with a big void.  You're left with something that looks a bit like a slug. 



On the positive side, you get rows of panels that are the same size, which has to be good for buildability.  First thought for the panel was a pyramid.  I set it up so the height offset was an instance parameter.  Then I ran Revit Excel Link from within the mass family to generate some randomness.  I went for 5 different sizes.  Now it looks like a crocodile.



But give the panel family some framing and the camera views from ground level start to look interesting.


Lots of spiky goodness going on.


Just for a change, I spent a while practicing my curtain panel by pattern skills. 


Did a bit of reverse engineering on some stuff I downloaded couple of years ago and explored various lumpy &/or twisted versions. 


Now you may say that I'm just playing around, which of course I am.  But it's surprising how often the stuff you were "just playing around with" one weekend inspires some real work a couple of weeks later.



I've been reading Jacob Bronowski's  "Ascent of Man".  It was a TV series about 40 years ago.  He was a serious Mathematician with a passion for the humanities.  I was taken by this quote.  "all science, all human thought, is a form of play.  Abstract thought is the neoteny of the intellect, by which man is able to carry out activities which have no immediate goal ... in order to prepare himself for long term strategies and plans." 


Thing is, although I'm being playful, there is a method to my madness.  I'm exploring an area that I know has a lot of potential.  Building up a store of useful memories. 

 
 
 
 

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