LAUSR

Yi-Chin Lee Computational Design Laboratory Carnegie Mellon University U.S.A. [email protected] Algotecton (from algorithm and tecton—carpentry, articulation) is a site-specific generative sculpture inspired by the Weaire-Phelan structure, a mathematical construct that approximates the geometry of foam. It comprises 16 interlocking polyhedra fabricated using advanced parametric modeling and computer numerical control (CNC) technologies. Evocative of different natural formations—a crystalline structure, a kelp forest, a molecular compound—the sculpture responds to Kendall Buster’s Parabiosis II piece at the street level of the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Algotecton harnesses state-of-theart computational design and fabrication techniques to give material expression to mathematical concepts, invite discovery and playfully transform people’s perception of space and form.