Thesis Proposition_Weisman

Research: I am exploring Gaudi’s use of ruled surfaces to construct the Sagrada Familia, specifically the hyperbolic paraboloid and the hyperboloid of revolution. Due to the parametric nature of these types of surfaces, they have extremely flexible forms because of the infinite combinations of the few basic parameters it takes to describe them. By changing the parameters of one surface while intersected with others, the topography of the entire model changed but the surfaces are able to maintain a consistent relationship with one another.

The principles of ruled surfaces can be applied to my own research in electronic knitting by providing a method to manipulate the flat surface of a textile. While dealing with tensile structures, parametric principles are inherently at work, as the environmental conditions are constantly affecting the behavior of the material, a concept which is most clearly illustrated in Gaudi’s hanging chain models.

Design: The cell is composed of a spherical body with slight articulations where fibers grow from the body. These fibers provide a structure by which the cells can be agglomerated into a field while operating at multiple scales, allowing for a variety of interactions between the cells.

The resulting field becomes an undulating surface with changing levels of density throughout, due to the connection types between the cells. The intersection of the bodies creates the densest condition with the richest surface texture while the joint between the thinnest fibers creates a looser construction, allowing for the introduction of overlaps and varying levels of transparencies.

Proposition: Based on these findings, I am proposing the development of a composite material system that incorporates structural, actuating, and ornamental properties while exploring the limitations of electronic knitting. Properties of ruled surfaces can be embedded into the knit textile, manipulating the surface, creating a three dimensional texture. The surface can then become environmentally responsive by using the flexible nature of knit textiles. When actuated, the dense, undulating surface texture can stretch, opening up and causing the material to behave in a different way, creating new forms and allowing for experiential qualities, such as lighting and transparency to be manipulated by the changing surface.