Research
Algae Growth Simulation
A Python-based simulation of biological growth behaviour in Grasshopper — used as a generative logic to design a small pavilion structure.
- Year
- 2020
- Role
- Student
- Tools
- Grasshopper · Python
About this project
During a module on natural forms and computational morphology in my master's programme, I wrote a Python script in Grasshopper simulating algae growth from a start point toward distributed nutrition points. The algorithm grows toward nearby nutrients and upward toward the sun when none are close enough; concentrated nutrition triggers branching.
This growth simulation was then used as the generative logic for designing a small pavilion — an experiment in letting a biological system directly determine architectural form, without imposing a top-down geometric intention.
Growth simulation variant — different nutrition distribution
Algae simulation concept slide
Growth rules diagram
Simulation — towards nutrition
Simulation — branching behaviour
Pavilion design derived from growth simulation
Pavilion structure detail
Pavilion plan and section
Pavilion render
Python script in Grasshopper
