GRASSHOPPER
ADVANCE CAD _ COURSE DOCUMENTATION
The natural world is an endless playground of ingenious solutions to problems that have evolved
over hundreds of millions of years.
In this course, I am working on the Grasshopper to generate complex forms that I inspired from nature and translate them into my design works.
Academic project: Advance cad/ 2020 winter section
Rhode island school of design
Project by: Yutong
00 Project 1
Natural forms are a result of a collection of constraints and parameters. Using the AskNature.org, the Library and the Nature Lab, research one aspect of a biological or
inorganic morphology that occurs in nature with the goal of understanding how and why these
forms emerge. The forms can be either microscopic or macroscopic.
- PART 1
- Present (2) options for your proposed topic of inquiry, images, and sources.
- Create a sketch of your specimen from life
- Create a diagrammatic drawing(s) explaining the morphology you are investigating. Pay particular attention to what the defining parameters are.
Topic: Fungus
I choose the fungus as my research topic, for their rich variety of structural compositions and attractively appearances.
To begin with, I did some pre-researches of diiferent types of fungus. Most of them have linear structures, while others look totally different. Therefore I divide my research into to parts: the linear type and the other strange types.
・ The linear type
The first structure I researched is the linear texture under its cap, the gills.
The parameters that define the structure are quantity, diameter, thickness... Other factors such as the degree of bending, the spacing & dense and the height.
Some mushroom grows together. The way they arrange
can also be an important factor.
・ Other types
Among these strange fungi, I am most interested in the structure of Calvatia sculpta. I can't believe it belongs to the family of mushroom.
Steps of structure-forming，and the parameters ：
1. the size
2. the number of surfaces
3. the height
4. the angle, curvature or further detail structures
02 Research
I was impressed by how the form of Calvatia scuIpta grow and transform. As It also has the linear texture on its surface, which makes its shape more interesting and challenge for me to rebuild and redesign. Therefore I chose the form of Calvatia scuIpta to go deeper research.
・ About Calvatia scuIpta
Calvatia sculpta, commonly known as the sculpted puffball, the sculptured puffball, the pyramid puffball, and the Sierran puffball, is a species of puffball fungus in the family Agaricaceae. Attaining dimensions of up to 3.1 to 5.9 in tall by 3.1 to 3.9 in wide, the pear- or egg-shaped puffball is readily recognizable because of the large pyramidal or polygonal warts covering its surface. It is edible when young, before the spores inside the fruit body disintegrate into a brownish powder. The spores are roughly spherical, and have wart-like projections on their surfaces.
・ Structure
The overall shape of Calvatia sculpta is a solid ellipsoid with pyramidal or polygonal warts covering its surface. It has a large sphere shape on the top and a relatively smaller bottom attach to the ground.
