Tesselated Flexible Surfaces

Two day workshop project modelling, simulating and fabricating free-form kinetic tiling patterns. The primary challenge with fabrication was in creating a doubly curved surface from a laser cutter, while maintaining the same relationship of hinge joints. The Hyperbolic surface was broken down into six overlapping panels that once attached together, would naturally deform the surface into the correct shape.

To join each overlapping panel securely, while also allowing for individual tile rotation, we developed a ‘belt buckle’ connection. That keeps each tile welded together, though individually threading each of the 816 was time consuming.

The final result exceeded our expectations, it was able to create the hyperbolic forms simulated in Kangaroo, it also exhibited similar forced rotation around areas of high deformation. The buckle connection while initially for structural purpose created a fortuitous pattern across the surface, that almost amplified the effects of rotation as laser etched vector field.