Architects, designers and engineers are pairing generative design with 3D-printing to reshape the world around us

An emerging trend in computer-assisted design called generative design is unleashing the creative powers of innovators around the world – and is destined to have major impact in the design and engineering labs at companies of all shapes and sizes.

Generative design represents an evolution from the previous generation of computer-assisted design, called parametric design. As an approach, generative design is an iterative design process that’s been around for decades. But new advances in raw computing power and in 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, are leading to wider adoption in multiple industries.

So what is generative design? It’s a process in which designers give their computers specifications and rules  governing space, force and load, materials and more, and then allow the computers to generate alternatives. The designer then iterates on these options by adjusting the rules that generated them. It’s a fast and evolutionary process that results in buildings whose shapes defy human comprehension, retail displays that mesmerize shoppers, lightweight machine parts and personal objects whose shapes are futuristic, yet somehow nature-inspired.

“We get worried about the term ‘intelligence,’ thinking the machine is going to be doing the creative bit, not us. The machine is an adviser. It’s a collaborator. It’s just helping.”

Arthur Mamou-Mani
Designer

“It’s a whole field of design that uses mathematics and the power of the computer to generate projects from sets of rules or modules,” said Arthur Mamou-Mani, a French architect whose company, Mamou-Mani Ltd., is based in London. “We try not to impose stuff on the computer, but we try to work with the computer. It’s designing from the bottom up rather than designing from the top down.”

“If you have the right database, you can measure the exact carbon footprint of everything you create as an architect or designer,” Mamou-Mani explained. “We measured the total carbon footprint not just of the piece itself but also the transportation of it, what happens after the exhibit ends,--each one of the components, the nuts and bolts.”

Architect Arthur Mamou-Mani stands beside ‘Mellifera,’ an installation of swirling, 3D-printed beehives, dancing through the Fortnum & Mason atrium in London. The 3D-printed modules were made of bioplastics from fermented sugar to showcase advances in material innovation and technology. (Image courtesy of Mamou-Mani Ltd)

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