GroenAls_Een Landelijke_Droom
Spring 2022
Sophomore Research Studio Award
GroenAls_Een Landelijke_Droom
is a study of the natural system of the Brussels Sprout. Precise measurements of 340 leaves [10 subjects] were recorded to amalgamate a database. With the intent of three-dimensionally visualizing the data, a speculative sprout was created by averaging the dimensions recorded. This speculative sprout takes the structure of a landscape, an artificial space engineered from the data compiled to better comprehend the scale and form the Brussels Sprout takes.
The data from the study is packaged in two ways, first through the artifact, the data-visualization as mentioned above. The second is an archive, filled with layered documentation, pushing the user to interact with the work as the researcher did the sprout. Both of these allow a user to physically engage with the study, moving the data into three-dimensional space.
Archive
The archive was built to contain the research leading up to the fabrication of the artifact. Wood panels were attached to the form of the manilla folder to create a box structure housing sprout documentation. The content unfolds to map the research. Each document is 34 x 22 inches with two layers; the bottom, printed primary research, and the top, hand-drawn extended research. The top layer is completed on drafting vellum, allowing the reader to engage layers of research. The user can peel the layers apart or allow them to interact. Viewed together allows for the most thorough understanding of the sprout.
Organization tabs, providing further information on their respective documents, are accessible from the right side of the box. The tabs are to be pulled out along with the documents.
The archive was created from a manilla folder, baltic birch plywood, galvanized steel chicken wire, chipboard, newsprint, vellum, and standard bond paper.
Sprout/
Measuring the dimensions of 10 different brussels sprouts reveals the complexities of a brussels sprouts structure, individual pieces working to
create a larger system. By pealing each leaf consecutively and measuring
their individual width and height, a spectator can better understand the
overall structure of the subject.
Following the Fibonacci Sequence, each sprout should contain 34 leaves
[some leaves are too soft and undeveloped to peal and measure], growing
in accordance to the Fibonacci Spiral.
Sprout [x] is a speculative brussels sprout created from averaging dimensions
of each leaf in the set of 10 to create a new assemblage and structure. This set
is abstracted in further documents and mapping.
Sprout [x]
Sprout [x] is the speculative brussels sprout created by averaging the dimensions of a group of 10 sprouts. An abstraction drawing was produced to demonstrate [x] in a more comprehensible view. Landscapes can quickly be understood and taken in by the a viewer, easily able to guage scale of each peak. The form of a brussels sprout hides its structure from the common viewer, making it difficult to grasp what each aspect accumulates to and how the system functions. Abstracting the brussels sprout into a landscape allows a viewer to understand the hidden structure of the system.
The form of Sprout [x] mimics the pattern of growth seen in a common brussels sprout. The Fibonacci Spiral is a spiral formation which works from the bottom of the stalk, where the first leaf sprouts, up towards its apex shoot. The largest leaves are found on the outermost layer while the smallest are tight against the stalk at the core. Following the Fibonacci Sequence, Brussels Sprouts have 34 leaves [the seventh Fibonacci number].
Sprout [y / z]
Sprout [y] is the speculative brussels sprout created by abstracting the geometric shapes within an existing brussels sprout. [y] follows the form of the axis points along the outermost leaves, those which from a protective shell around the sprout. By abstracting the sprout to its geometric core, a viewer may begin to understand a structure not readily visible.
Sprout [y] mimics the pattern of growth seen as a common brussels sprout grows from it stock. The Fibonacci Spiral is a spiral formation from the bottom of the stalk working up towards its tip.
Sprout [z] is a speculative brussels sprout created by abstracting the texture and form of a brussels sprouts leaves. [z] is created from a 3D scan of an outermost leaf, which is then turned into a point cloud to understand the textural elements and abstract form of a brussel sprouts
Artifact
The artifact is a 3D visualization of the dataset, extruding the form into a landscape. Like the Brussels Sprout, the artifact is human-engineered; each space is measured and directed by the system of another.
The artifact is an assembly of Sprout [x], the “average” Brussels Sprout created from the dataset. The leaves were decreased from 34 to 17, with the dimensions scaled up by six to allow for the space to be explored. The formation was informed by the Fibonacci Spiral, the same pattern in which the Brussels Sprout grows.
Overlayed is a vein structure pulled from a leaf earlier documented. The vein has been constructed to show its structural form and necessity, tying the landscape together as it would a leaf.
The artifact was constructed with CNC-machined insulation foam, steel stakes, cotton thread, and soil. The presentation frame and stand were built with Douglas Fir lumber and zinc screws.