Designers

Julieta Alva

Maverick Chan

Nicholas Krahn

Richard Mohammed

Cluster evolved out of a simple capsule form, its intention was to expose its connections while at the same time perform as a lantern. The shape evolved from a structure wrapped around a half capsule form. This pattern was then extruded out giving the object a crystal-like structure similar to the amethyst gemstone. A random generator is then applied to each the aperture and the extrusion length to give the object variability, making it seem as if it was grown over millions of years.

The initial intention of Cluster was to make it large enough to stand within, giving viewers the experience of being within a geodesic-like form while being able to look outwards through each aperture. However, the final size had to shrink and so did this idea. The project began with half-scale component studies to understand the complexity of the geometry.

Cluster was also designed to show off its connections using box joints at every intersection. In this way Cluster both exposes its construction techniques and utilizes the 6-axis robot (used to cut the material) in a way where a 3-axis CNC mill could not.