AFTER SPECIFICATION

The After Specification elective, though abrubtly halted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, initiated four experiments examining potential integrations within digital fabrication and ecological processes. The first experiment, titled “Root Reticulation” utilized 3D printed molds for barley roots to grow into. My particular design, which included geometric hexahedron forms, unveiled an ability for the barley roots to intricately interlace at points where the forms were directly adjacent, allowing for flexible movements acting as a hinge of sorts. While the initial trial encompassed both smooth and ridged surface molds, the smoother geometries yielded better results, indicating a preference for the simplistic surfaces. In the subsequent iteration of “Root Reticulation,” I joined all of the hexahedrons together using the smooth surface geometries, thereby economizing 3D print materials. My aspirations of this second test encompassed analyzing the structural integrity of larger interconnected surface of root forms and evaluating attainable range of motion. Regrettably, the experiment was curtailed before fruition due to laboratory closure amid the pandemic.