Botanic Architecture (Product Assembly)

Botanic Architecture, is an assignment that takes modeling in Digital Project a step further into 3D modeling, a step into assembling a generative form. In this "Product Assembly" - which will be shown in the following images - that was inspired by the tree branch, its intentions was to conjunct the assignments of both Virtual and Material engagement classes. In Materials Engagement, the assignment was to cast ten alterations of a single object. As for Virtual engagement, the project was to design an assembly from a single unite (part), and then the overall configuration can be altered. So, I though the best approach for both assignment is to use a natural element that is generative by nature. In addition, importing this natural element (branch) in a virtual environment helped in exploring the different compositional alterations that this single part can produce - rather than having only ten, I had 36 different alturations.

Image1: The physical object (branch) which was casted from plaster and was used for the Materials Engagement class.

Image 2: The plaster "part" modeled in Digital Project.

Image 3: The part's modeling process starts in a 2D sketch with a given set of constrains to define the relationship between it's geometry.

Image 4: After the part is modeled in 2D then it is sent to a different working layout and assembled into a single 3D composition.

Image 5: The composition maintains the logic of constraints which were used for it's different parts to establish the relationship within the overall form.

Image 6: Each part in the composition rotates separately in respect to other parts through a set formula. Every two parts (in contact) include a parameter that controls the rotation angle between them in relation to the base constraint (angle). So, when ever the base constraint is changed the composition refigures its self in respect to the formula given for each part.

Image 7: This is a visualization of how a virtual form is inspired by the natural generative relationships found in nature, and how its functionality may inspire its form.

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Emad Al-Qattan Digital Technologies

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