Nervous System is a generative design studio that works at the intersection of science, art, and technology. “Founded in 2007, it has pioneered the application of new technologies in design, including generative systems, 3D printing, and webGL.”

The MIT Morningside Academy for Design invited their cofounders, MIT alumna Jessica Rosenkrantz '05 (@mitalumni) and Jesse LouisRosenberg, to offer a weeklong workshop at MIT exploring design and computation. “Building Complex Curvature from Flat Sheets” involved 15 @MIT students in making a large aluminum sculpture now displayed in the N52 Building courtyard.

Participants constructed surfaces with complex curvature from flat materials like paper, wood, or metal. Normally, flat sheets can only bend in one direction making so called 'developable' surfaces with zero Gaussian curvature. They used custom computational design tools to contort these materials into highly curved surfaces without any forming or creasing. They learned how tools work, designed some demo parts, and constructed a large sculpture using these techniques as a group.

The sculpture was constructed from dozens of laser cut panels connected by rivets which we were cut, finished, assembled, and then installed on campus.

MOVIE: Filmed by Jade Chongsathapornpong and MIT Video Productions. Edited by Conor McArdle, MIT MAD + @MITProjectManus