GRAVITY DRAPE
"Voronoi Drape" is an exploration of bio-mimicry, digital fabrication, and recycled materials. Looking for insight into what shapes a flower, we became fascinated with a process called the Voronoi Pattern. The Voronoi Pattern is the mathematical process that drives the way nature is able to replicate pattern and form. Visualize a distribution of points - these points create a series of areas that create the pattern. For the initial points, we mapped the knots, checks and splits in our piece of timber, considering these areas as voids. This was a jumping-off point to think about how this two dimensional process could be diagrammed in three dimensions.
The design process used a mix of Rhino, Grasshopper, and Fusion 360 to create a digital model based on the initial points. We referenced the digital model to then mill a recycled piece of heavy timber. Remaining cracks, checks, and voids were then filled with a dyed resin to control the porosity of the wood.
The final result is a solid piece of timber that appears to have been folded, bent, pushed and pulled by an unknown exterior force. The true beauty of the project is in the realization that the force is actually a set of predetermined constraints. The different forms are purely the result of adaptation, guided by the very same principles that created the original…
