Differential growth in corals

Nature is a designer of at least 3.8 billion years old. From microorganisms to big mammals it is fascinating how nature takes the most out of the material available. This study explored a wide range of static structures in nature, in general, the lessons are that material is scarce and shape is abundant. In other words, nature optimizes shapes to save material while at the same time strengthening the structure, factors extremely interesting to architecture.

We investigated everything about corals, from polyps the single unit of a coral to atolls, a ring-shaped island formation that emerges from many corals together.

Hexacoralla by Ernst Haeckel.

We narrowed this research to Stony Corals, specifically on how it grows by a process called budding where its polyps duplicate. This research advanced in many computational design strategies. The final outcome is a Python code that implements an agent-based system, a finite element analysis, and machine learning support.

Details of a mesh edges after the differential growth algorithm.

Study with the settings leading to a more smooth growth.

Same study as before showing the mesh edges.

Donut-shaped mesh study 01.

Donut-shaped mesh study 02.

Donut-shaped mesh study 03.

Donut-shaped mesh study 04.

3D-Printed study front view.

3D-Printed study top view.

Håkon, Daniel, Ryan and Ying