Interactive Form-Finding for Biomimetic Fibre Structures Development of a computational design tool and physical fabrication technique based on the biological structure of the lichen

This contribution shows a biomimetic approach to design and produce fibrous structural elements derived from the morphology of the biologic archetype 'the lichen'. The physical form finding strategy allows for a novel self-organised reinforcement for fibrous composite systems. A computational design tool has been developed, based on the findings of various physical models. The digital device allows for shape control and therefore an interaction to and manipulation of the fabrication process. Since the form finding algorithms of the tool are based on physical experiments, every geometry is derived through the program and has its counterpart in production. For example: the fibre density in the model can be adjusted which leads to different geometries. In production the chosen denseness is utilised, thus, the production yields automatically to the desired load-optimized geometry found in the form-finding tool.