Scripting Cultures: Architectural Design and Programming

Chapter 8

Simplifying complexity for fabrication

How can a complex 3D curve such as a non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) be resolved into a set of simple geometries that suits the fabrication industry working to its current capability, and without a loss of design quality? This chapter begins with a discussion of an approach taken to resolve this conundrum when the Melbourne-based sculpture/architecture practice of Cat Macleod and Michael Bellemo presented us (RMIT University – SIAL) with a model comprised of a loose tangle of wires to describe digitally in order to proceed to make it buildable. I begin by outlining the nature of the problem and show how we applied the resulting theory to a single NURBS curve as a precursor to making an essential contribution to this public art project. My account moves on to reflect on the case study sited in Melbourne – Shoal Fly By, a series of four sculptures up to 50 metres in length. Representing ‘movement through water’ and composed predominantly of a profusion of wildly intersecting NURBS curves, the construction represented a significant challenge to the designers, engineers, fabricators and erectors. The chapter unpacks the workflow for the fabrication description and production and looks back over a strategy to convert the metallic spaghetti into affordable stainless-steel arc tubes cut into practical lengths.

Cat Macleod and Michael Bellemo, Shoal Fly By, Melbourne, 2002. One of the completed sculptures as built.

Shoal Fly By ...