Bioarchitecture Offers a New Spin on Energy-Efficient Design
Dollens is applying botany and digital design to architecture. Software that can mimic biological processes on a computer screen dates back to the 1960s, when researchers created a program letting scientists mathematically see how an organism grows and conduct virtual experiments, such as the University of Calgary’s algorithmic botany program. Using software programs such as Xfrog.com — which also is used by film animators — Dollens created computer-generated, three-dimensional models of building trusses constructed along the lines of a pea plant’s tendril and a tumbleweed’s frame. He also designed a virtual multistoried building with rooms, balconies, and solar-panel surfaces based on the structure of a penstemmon.
Tumbletruss.com contains examples of Dennis Dollen’s work.
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