Project Website http://matter.media.mit.edu/tools/details/cnsilk
CNSILK 1: The research explores the design and fabrication potential of silk fibers -- inspired by silkworm cocoons -- for the construction of woven habitats. It explores a novel approach to the design and fabrication of silk-based building skins by controlling the mechanical and physical properties of spatial structures inherent in their microstructures using multi-axes fabrication. The method offers construction without assemblies such that material properties vary locally to accommodate for structural and environmental requirements. This approach stands in contrast to functional assemblies and kinetically actuated facades which require a great deal of energy to operate, and are typically maintained by global control. Such material architectures could simultaneously bear structural load, change their transparency so as to control light levels within a spatial compartment (building or vehicle), and open and close embedded pores so as to ventilate a space.
CNSILK 2: Inspired by the process of spider web weaving and the sophisticated microstructures they incorporate, CNSilk is an exploration of digital fabrication and biomimetic design through the creation of fibers and membranes. Using a multi-axes tensile fabrication platform, CNSilk seeks to create woven seamless structures that employ varied morphologies and physical properties according to function. At its core, CNSilk explores the concept of material synthesis as an integral part of the fabrication process, where tensile members are dynamically generated to adapt to current environmental factors. In one method, on-the-fly material generation is integrated into the fabrication process allowing fibers and membranes to be dynamically synthesized at the point of deposition. Experiments are currently focused on the synthesis of Nylon 6,6 using a modified solvent solution and the deposition of fusible threads.