Priscila Lena Farias / Anna Calvera Marcos da Costa ... - Blucher

Design of elastic form with parametric simulation
Figure 5. BioPlac - Source: www.fibradesign.net
Thus, we remember the large quantity and diversity of species
that our flora has: trees, bushes, lianas, grasses, seeds and
palm trees. The diversity of our vegetal species provides us with
strong possibilities of creation and innovation, but, industrially,
they are not sufficiently explored because of its strong relationship
with craft production. That permits the mixing and composition
of other fibers enhancing its performance.
Fibers such as rush, sisal, “piaçava” straw and wicker are frequently
found, in a braided way, in pieces of furniture all over the country.
Other industrialized applications of these fibers have been
appearing. The mantle of sisal, for example, is a new substitute
for the foam in mattresses, but the sisal can be seen in other elements
such as rugs and carpets. However, the above-mentioned
uses do not present any innovation with a technological character.
All of them are cultural practices found in different communities.
On the other hand, in Brazil we can find some designers, companies
and public institutions willing to find “intelligent” materials
from new combinations of natural fibers and that permit new
uses. Some of these inventions have even been awarded internationally,
fact that has highlighted the diversity of Brazilian fibers.
One of the materials created by Brazilian designers from Fibra
Design Office was the Bioplac, a plaque formed by three internal
layers of laminated bamboo and two external layers on each side
with laminated “Pupunha”. The result is a plaque that can be used
in objects and pieces of furniture because it optimizes and aggregates
the characteristics of these two materials. Fibra Design has
gotten the prize IF Material Awards 2008 with the BioPlac.
After verifying the existence of architects, designers, students,
private companies and governmental institutions, willing to research
and develop new materials and new products based on an
innovative design, allied to the abundant vegetal diversity existing
in Brazil and with the new technologies of parametric modeling, it
is possible to affirm that we still have a vast field to be explored.
6. Conclusion
It is noticed that there is a huge effort to apply the parametric design
and also to develop materials suitable to the Brazilian reality.
The new findings and the research in that area are fundamental for
the evolution of sustainable productivity in the Brazilian society.
Materials such as bamboo and wicker are totally malleable and
their behavior seems random and involuntary, but simulations
can be performed helped by the algorithmic modeling predicting
as diverse as possible situations to that model. These simulations
can be applied to different kinds of materials, and other forces
can be simulated, such as gravity and torsion, for example. On
airplanes, boats and in racing cars, carbon fibers are structured
to adequate its minimum weight to the functions of tension and
traction. The simulation permits the adjustment of the fibers in the
right direction of the effort. The optimization of the performance
of the materials is still recent in design. It is possible to notice,
in addition, a considerable waste of materials due to insufficient
research and poor workforce in many sectors.
Although we utilize these concepts in Brazil only in the construction
of decorative objects or pieces of furniture, they are perfectly
applicable to civil construction thought for an automatized and
sustainable world. With the algorithmic parametrization it is easier
to transfer the technology from one sector to another, at the
same time new materials are successfully reused in other areas.
Airplanes, cars, boats and objects have a yearly calendar of races
and competitions abounding in huge investments in technology.
Some sectors cannot create their own competitive circuit yet due
to a lack of incentive to experimentation and research. On the other
hand, we have to respond urgently to the climate changes and
perfect the performances of their results on the built works. The
slow adaptation of our roads, harbors and airports to the World Cup
standards can be a favorable moment for the parametric design to
adequate our lagging behind in a context of valorization of Brazilian
fiber materials and projectors.
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