Sculptable Mesh Structures for Room-Scale Form-Finding

2026-07-09

AI Summary

This study addresses the inefficiency and poor integration with CAD workflows inherent in traditional room-scale physical prototyping. To overcome these limitations, the authors propose a manually adjustable “shape-aware” mesh structure embedded with resistive length sensors along its deformable edges, enabling real-time capture of geometric deformations. Coupled with a 3D reconstruction algorithm, this system instantly digitizes the physical form, facilitating seamless translation between tangible exploration and digital modeling. The approach represents the first interactive, computable physical modeling framework at room scale, significantly enhancing the efficiency of converting large-scale physical prototypes into accurate digital representations within architectural and design workflows.

Abstract

It can be hard to design a physical structure entirely within the confines of a computer monitor. To better capture the interplay between real-world objects and a designer's work-in-progress, practitioners will often go through a sequence of low-fidelity prototypes (paper, clay, foam) before arriving at a form that satisfies both functional and aesthetic concerns. While necessary, this model-making process can be quite time-consuming, particularly at larger scales, and the resulting geometry can be difficult to translate into a CAD environment, where it will be further refined. This paper introduces a user-adjustable, room-scale, "shape-aware" mesh structure for low-fidelity prototyping. A user physically manipulates the mesh by lengthening and shortening the edges, altering the overall curvature and sculpting coarse forms. The edges are equipped with resistive length sensors, and transmit their configuration to a central computer. The structure can later be reproduced in software, connecting this prototyping stage to the larger computational design pipeline.

Problem

• physical prototyping
• form-finding
• low-fidelity modeling
• CAD integration
• room-scale design

Innovation

• shape-aware mesh
• room-scale prototyping
• resistive length sensors
• physical-digital design integration
• form-finding