Motivation

Since the Industrial Revolution, the design of objects and structures has been dominated parts. Within a design, each individual part is typically composed of a single material, such as a metal cog, and provides no function on its own. Natural systems, by contrast, are formed from gradients of material with no clear boundary between individual parts. The trunk of a tree narrows into branches that slowly transition into leaves with subtle gradients of material and form.

The ability to design objects that that contain such gradients of material has only recently become possible through the advent of multi-material 3D printing systems. Aguahoja II builds upon the library of abundant, sustainable composites developed for Aguahoja I with the novel capability to 3D print gradients of multiple materials.

Transitions between strong, rigid sections and soft, flexible occur seamlessly within Aguahoja II’s biopolymer skin. These gradients are made visible through the incorporation of natural pigments and dyes from beetroot, turmeric, butterfly-pea flower, and squid-ink. From these colors, patterns inspired by those used by organisms to communicate with one another are arrayed across the structure’s skin.

Digital Fabrication

Aguahoja II’s organic skin is designed through a procedural pipeline that assigns material properties based on input environmental parameters. Structural simulation guides the distribution of strong, rigid materials and soft, pliable materials in regions of high load and high displacement respectively. These materials are then assigned colors based on designed patterns that mirror those used for communication amongst other organisms. The machine code required to print layers of graded material that form these gradients when dried is generated automatically.

To provide additional reinforcement, a generative pattern of rigid veins containing high concentrations of cellulose is distributed within the multi-material skin. These veins are created by an agent-based model that aggregates in areas of high structural stress but disperses in areas of high illumination where the patterns are meant to be most visible. This generative system can be applied to any input geometry, allowing for the rapid generation of a designed structure and the machine code required for its fabrication.

Energy and Ecology

Structures in the Aguahoja series leverage a mix of renewable and non-renewable inputs in a system with feedback flows through the decomposition of structural materials. Organic materials and their refinement account for the system’s largest energetic inputs. Approximately 13% of the system’s energy is drawn from renewable systems, substantially higher than conventional architecture but lower than agricultural systems. Despite the relatively small physical footprint of structures in the Aguahoja series, their material flows are global.

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