Nature, Architecture, Mathematics and the Digital

The structures in nature are great lessons for human study. Having been in development for several billion years, only the most successful structural forms have survived. The resourcefulness of material use, the underlying structural systems, and the profound capacity to respond to various climatic and environmental forces make natural forms tremendous exemplars of human architecture. The wholeness of the natural form indicates that the form and forces are always in some sense of equilibrium. In most of natural forms, the quality of equilibrium may be difficult to recognize. However, seashells are one of the natural forms whose functions are simple enough to be approximated by a simple mathematical relationship. The focus of this study was to understand the seashell form as applicable to human architecture. Digital methods are the language to analyze, create, and simulate seashell forms, as well as, suggest a variety of possible architectural forms.