Presenters for 2004:   Stephanie Andrews   Christopher Bailey   Joanna Berzowska   Shushil Bhakar   and Eric Hortop   Cliff Burgess   Paulo Chagas   Dennis Dollens   Dan Falk   Sarah Filley   Ivette Fuentes-Guridi   Lila Kari   Narendra Pachkhede   Chris Salter   Chelsea Smock   Clara Ursitti   Derek van der Kooy   Yon Visell   Fabian Winkler   Panel Discussion Symposium, 2004 Visual Biomimetic Architecture: Digitally-Growing Structure, Space, Surface By Dennis Dollens Universitat Internacional de Catalunya http://www.tumbletruss.com By looking at biological and botanical life for ideas that can be exported to architecture -- branching, membranes, photosynthesis, leaf phyllotaxis, aesthetics, etc. -- an agenda of design concepts may be proposed that simulates desirable properties found in nature for deployment in building. Material scientists are using biomimetic investigations, where researchers look to natural forms of life and organic elements-shells, fish, bacteria, plants, animals, spiders, etc. -- for properties such as hardness, lightness, strength, softness, stickiness, etc., to extract new materials and new ways of manufacturing. My project uses some of the tactics involved in biomimetics for application to architecture and applies the extrapolated observations to software growth. The project is both conceptual and theoretical yet physically buildable; digital and physical models, animations, and STL models are part of the resulting project. Xfrog is a hybrid software using icons and modified L-system algorithms to digitally grow and simulate plants. Over the last two years I have "digitally grown" architectural elements with it in an experimental vein but with a view to actually using the results in built projects. This presentation shows the conceptual framework and the development of individual architectural elements and how they come together for an environmental canopy project in Pontecagnano, Sicily and for a footbridge in the French Pyrenees. They take the ideas of bio-observation of natural objects, development and growth in software, refinement by the designer, and illustrate a way of viewing the integration of environment and digital production. Biography: Dennis Dollens is the author of D2A: Digital to Analog and co-author of Genetic Architectures / Arquitecturas Genéticas. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Barcelona, Spain, where he practices design and is a professor in the Genetic Architecture Program at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya's school of architecture.   Page Top Copyright © 2004 Subtle Technologies Festival