Water Cube

Water cube, whose official name is Beijing National Aquatics Center, was built for 2008 Olympic Games. It is a fascinating building, which looks like a gathering of bubbles. The most interesting part of this building is its structure, which is known as Weaire-Phelan foam structure. This structure is a description of idealized foam of equal-sized bubbles in a mathematical way. It is completely regular, but looks random. When the structure was built, air pillows made of ETFE were used to fill in the frame of the structure to build a continuous bubble-like skin. When those plastic bags are lighten up from inside they look just like bubbles, although during daytime they look gray and dirty.

On Growth and Form by D’arcy Thompson

In this chapter, the author mentioned that mathematics is the most precise language to describe our world,. Organic forms can be simplified or generalized into mathematical formulas. As a result, they exist on a co-ordinate system in order to make comparisons. “The precise definition of an ellipse introduces us to all ellipses in the world”. He is not concerned with the deffects which may exist but instead of the general. He understands organic forms as existing within a field of forces. These forces are the values of the parameters. He is not as concerned with defining the forces (though he does in a few cases such as gravity) but is instead concerned with the effect of the forces. Parametric connection with nature.

The idea of what can be transformed into another is also dependent on material properties. Thompson discusses the idea that we cannot compare forms of different zoological classes . As we cannot compare a plastic and concrete.

Student :
Borislava Lyubenova

Professor :
Maite Bravo