As with testing the geodesic ideas, I want to use computer modelling, physical modelling and drawing side by side as a linked process.
Creating a computer model of a forest of bamboo which is then cut to create a form is something that I feel I should be able to achieve using Rhino and Grasshopper. Transferring this into a physical model is then going to be more challenging.
One approach for the physical model could be to simply 3D print the computer model that I create. This would probably be the most straightforward and direct way of achieving this. However, I feel that by taking that approach, I wouldn't be learning much by creating the physical model – not anything that I won't have already discovered through creating the computer model. This would make this step therefore fairly uninformative to the design process, and not in line with the 'learning through making' and prototyping rationale that I am striving to use.
An alternative way would be to take advantage of the laser cutter. Using this method, I would have to flatten the panelled formwork into its constituent net parts and devise a system for then connecting these together to create the three-dimensional form. This could then be used to cast the final structure. Whilst this is complicated, if I can achieve it then the model will serve as a 'proof of concept', as it shows that the bamboo heights and formwork geometry can all be derived from a grasshopper script. Laser cutting, or CNC routing, is something which could be used for cutting full-size panels, so the modelling process would be directly applicable to the real-world scenario which I am proposing. For this model, I would need to also use the grasshopper script to create 'bamboo' at the required heights to cut out too. For the full-size application, doing this would show that the height data can be derived for the bamboos in different locations, to cut them to the right sizes in situ.
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