capacity for (urban eden, human error) Bumbershoot Version

Click above image to see a slideshow of images from the show.

This system uses a computer controlled four-axis positioning table to "print" intricate bio-architectural constructions out of moss and seeds. Suspended in a clear gel growth medium, the moss continues to grow and the seeds sprout. The algorithmically-generated patterns drawn by the system are based on the Eden growth model and leverage mathematical representations of both urban growth and cellular growth, thereby connecting the concept of city with the concept of the organism. This project is working to make concrete the idea of dynamic and fluid computer space altering the expression and formation of a living and growing biological material, via its collaboration with an engineering mechanism.

The project was presented in Bumbershoot 2009 at the Seattle Center. It was a part of Kerfuffle, a show curated by Lele Barnett and Christopher Weber.

It is the same piece that was shown in New Orleans for DesCours 2007. The primary difference being that it now prints with actual seeds to allow for the appearance of sprouts over the duration of the exhibit. This further pushes the concept of an "organic printer". The piece was also modified to run unattended for 12 hours at a time.

I was interviewed about this piece by Brian Miller from the Seattle Weekly. Here is a link to that interview.

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