The beauty of parametric design is the ability to efficiently arrive at an optimized result while accommodating a multitude of constraints. In a world increasingly facing resources scarcity, designing stronger, faster, and lighter is the cornerstone of innovation. It is parametric design that has the ability to drive this progress by producing less resource intensive, more elegant, and efficient forms. The adaptable and non-destructive modeling process of parametric design allows for rapid iteration and lowers the cost of design modification.
I have a passion for parametric bio-mimicry, form-finding, and dynamic design. I have applied my parametric design skill as a lighting designer and satellite systems designer and regularly explore these themes for product design and architectural concept development.
You can find some of my parametric designs for small objects such as jewelry and lamps on my Etsy site, grownforms
I have a passion for parametric bio-mimicry, form-finding, and dynamic design. I have applied my parametric design skill as a lighting designer and satellite systems designer and regularly explore these themes for product design and architectural concept development.
You can find some of my parametric designs for small objects such as jewelry and lamps on my Etsy site, grownforms
Parametric Bio-Mimicry
Biology has used the iterative design process over millennia to derive optimized solutions to a variety of tasks. Our ability to mine the wisdom of this iterative approach will be a determining factor in the pace of our innovation. In this project, I explored a number of ways to algorithmically mimic the form of biological systems such as bone, plant cells, and veins. Each of these forms have different properties that could be exploited such as the uniquely high strength to weight ratio of bone or the highly efficient material conveyance of vein structures.
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Form Finding
I created this coral like, algorithmically generated data sculpture using Rhino, Grasshopper, Weaverbird and Photoshop. This sculpture begins with a geometric seed that “grows” as its surface subdivides and the faces are repelled from one another. A physics simulator was applied to balance the sculpture and allow it “sit” on the plate below.
In the vase below, a similar algorithmic process is used to expand a curve along a surface such that it fills the available space while tolerating a maximum distance between the curves final state. This computational maximizes surface area and could be used for tasks like efficient heat dissipation. |
Parametric Design for Product Development
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This series of modern lamps showcases the experimental flexibility of computational design. In these luminaire designs, I use different enclosure types such as this bio inspired branch like pattern, a single axis stand allowing the lamp to swing, and a tripod stand for simplicity and stability. I selected a marble like finish for the glass lampshades and a stainless steel metallic finish for the hardware.
Modeling for these lamps was completed using Grasshopper with renderings completed using raytracing in Rhino and post processing in Photoshop. |
Parametric Design for Surface modification
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This solar powered, biodegradable, 3D printed patio lantern series was designed by modeling a shell to support the solar LED component and using parametric methods to compute the complex web like surface that replaces the initial form. The parametric workflow populates the base geometry with random points, uses a k-nearest neighbors algorithm to identify viable connections for each point, and thickens and smooths these connections to form a gentle, organic web.
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