Poster Refined Grid

TEXT

Solanum lycopersicum being the scientific name of a tomato is the experimental modeling object that is explored here. I became aware of the elegantly simple yet complex internals of this fruit when I was cutting them in wedges for a salad. The three primary elements that were explored were its core and shell, its membrane and its seeds. In this combination I expanded on the elements (inside a 3D parametric program) which produced some fascinating form and space.

An image of all three elements used in combination to produce what could be a conceptual futuristic thoroughfare within a city, the core and shell (forming walls on each side of the walkway), the membrane (semi transparent glass creating a ceiling) and the seeds (each a source of light). The concept is complimented by the surface of the walls which reflect the glass dome membrane (or ceiling) and seeds. This reflection creates a second iteration that could be seen as the inside surface texture of the tomato. The semi transparent membrane both compliments an actual tomato’s membrane and also helps accentuate the ‘seeds’ as they shine through and around.

These iterations present the discovery of a walkway, each segment membrane viewed from ‘ground level’ forms an aesthetic protective ceiling that when lit with light creates an imaginative walkthrough. The ceiling could be seen as the membrane protecting its seeds (or the humans faring through) and one feels naturally drawn to move through it with the eye.

The smaller iterations are both membrane and seed experimentations exaggerated within different concepts. For example, morphing the curvilinear form of the shell for each membrane segment created a very sharp and hazardous environment which does not reflect the essence of a tomato. Other iterations particularly the cubic seeds (bottom left) dominated the scene as the form loses some sense of flow and appears neither organic nor a representation of its inspirational origin. I felt the wire extrusion formed from a membrane offset was a very elegant discovery. The rib cage-like form creates a very organic iteration.