SUTD Professors Bring Parametric Design To Light in Illuminated 3D Printed Installation

A luminous tetrahedral mesh spanning 10 meters, (Ultra) Light Network is the latest 3D printed innovation achieved by Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) Professors Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon, who were also behind this mesh pavilion last year. Displayed at this year’s iLight Marina Bay in Singapore, the interactive light sculpture is an exploration of how full-scale 3D printed components can create a system to “address not only structural requirements but also power transmission, and information communication within a seamless and continuous aesthetic.”

Suspended over its visitors, the display engages the public through responses to their movements below, controlled by over 50,000 distinct LED pixels and their parent algorithm. This is made possible through five Teensy microcontrollers, working in conjunction with three ultrasonic sensors at the base of the structure, resulting in a lively and illuminating experience.

SUTD Professors Bring Parametric Design To Light in Illuminated 3D Printed Installation - More Images+ 13

© SUTD: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon

© SUTD: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon

The entire mesh is composed of 715 polycarbonate squared tubes of standard dimensions, responsible for the balanced and even diffusion of the light sources. Additionally, 152 individual nodes were printed from ABS and Nylon to contain custom LED bulbs, an integral aspect of the 10m x 6m x 3m installation.

© SUTD: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon
© SUTD: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon

Custom parametric design was crucial in helping the polymer structure achieve its tetrahedral form, as well as its other various geometries and the coordination of the lighting system. As a result of its slender yet sturdy characteristics, the installation can withstand stresses of expansion and contraction, and even absorbs external forces such as wind loads and punctual forces. This is also due in part to the model’s hyper-redundancy, which unlike other current systems, converges ten members per node to allow for stability and resistance.

 Hear more from the team behind (Ultra) Light Network in the video below:

Design Concept: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon
Project Lead: Felix Raspall, Carlos Banon, Manuel Garrido, Felix Amtsberg and Mohan Elara.
Research Team: Tay Jenn Chong, Pan Shiqian, Gowdam Sureshkumar, Thejus Pathmakumar, Joei Wee Shi Xuan, Liu Hong Zhe, Yiping Goh, Mohit Arora and Naik Hiong Chiang.
Sponsors: Stratasys, Center for Digital Design and Manufacturing at SUTD, and SUTD.
LED supplier: Bond Optoelectronics 

News via: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon of SUTD.

© SUTD: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon
© SUTD: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon
© SUTD: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon

SUTD Professors Design 3D Printed Mesh Pavilion

Professors Felix Raspall and Carlos Bañón from SUTD Singapore have designed a 14.5-meter-long fibrous mesh made out of metal and nylon 3D printed nodes and aluminum bars for the SUTD Open House 2016. Rather than utilizing 3D printing to create a scaled model, the pavilion project applied 3D printing technology directly to functional architectural components at a large scale.

This Mysterious 3D Printed Grotto Challenges Boundaries of Computational Geometry and Human Perception

Following the success of their highly intricate Arabesque Wall, Benjamin Dillenburger and Michael Hansmeyer have once again achieved new levels of ornamental eye candy - this time, with a full-scale 3D printed grotto created from seven tons of sandstone.

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Cite: Osman Bari. "SUTD Professors Bring Parametric Design To Light in Illuminated 3D Printed Installation" 15 Apr 2017. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/869023/sutd-professors-bring-parametric-design-to-light-in-illuminated-3d-printed-installation> ISSN 0719-8884

© SUTD: Felix Raspall and Carlos Banon

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