Algorithmic Modelling of Triply Periodic Minimal Surface

Abstract

In the planning process design has always preceded the construction phase. The act of designing is an opportunity to organise one’s ideas, manage resources and predict results, and is made possible through the use of dedicated instruments. Pencils, pens, compasses and other simple instruments have slowly been refined, remaining largely unchanged over the centuries, and it is only in the last four decades that they have been supplemented by computer systems. Over the years the level of involvement of computer grew, developing from a representational role to having a direct influence on the process of generating forms. In recent years, the increased levels of computer literacy has given rise to a new type of modelling, based on the elaborative logic of information, which has determined a new phase in computer assisted design, in which the form is generated by drawing up algorithms. In this paper this kind of modelling is applicate to the study of minimal surfaces. These geometric objects, if structured in a triple symmetry periodic system, reveal highly interesting properties that are hard to analyse and manage with traditional tools.