regrowth, Simon Gehring

»regrowth« explores the connection between computational design and the use of leftover materials from the wood industry. Wood is considered in its naturally evolved form instead of seeing the material as a linear, standardised and endless entity. The evolved geometries are studied and analysed to benefit from their formal and constructive properties. Through the use of digital fabrication methods and algorithmic tools, a dynamic system is created that responds to the constantly changing demands of the material.

Two approaches emerge from this system, each representing an extreme in the treatment of waste wood. One is the use of whole branches and the other is the regeneration of fine particle-sawdust. In the interplay of algorithms and natural forms, these show possibilities of how existing potentials of leftover wood resources can be used and manifest themselves as new design qualities in furniture design.

the »adapation« table investigates the connection between algorithmic design and leftover materials from the wood industry. Using digital manufacturing methods, branches are processed in a minimally invasive way. The strengths of computational tools are strategically applied in order to the use of leftover materials. The table embodies the story of the growth of its material, a dynamic process that can be read in the static object.

the »emergence« stool refers to the loss that any wood processing involves: chipped, fine particles – sawdust. In the sawmill, 40% of the wood volume of a debranched log is lost. Through the chipping process, the material loses any constructive and formal properties. Inspired by the cell growth of trees, the shredded material is rearranged. An algorithm simulates the cell growth process, which is visualized in the stool on a macroscopic level.