BIOLUMINESCENT FACE MASK
PROJECT: Fit For the Future, Research Design Studio
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YEAR: Fall 2023, UCLA
Bioluminescent algae has two performance qualities - light generation and the removal of CO2. For the purpose of this mask, both elements will be utilized to help purify the breathing air of the wearer and illuminate the wearer in the dark.
For this mask design, the relationship between the face and the mask was first considered and its relationship to a branching design. Underneath our skin lies a complex system of veins and arteries which portray a branch-like pattern. The location of veins and arteries in the face were mapped onto a 3d surface of a face. This created a web of lines, vertices, and intersections which were translated into control points. At every end, split, and intersection of the veins, a control point was added. These control points became the root indeces input in the Venation script to create the branching pattern mapped onto the face.
Initial Grasshopper tests were conducted using the Parakeet Venation script. The first test was limited to a single branch which was tested in increasing levels of density using a random cloud of control points across the face. This produced a snaking curve that wound throughout the face, without consideration of facial features. Next, additional branch splitting was added by increasing the branch count which created the branching pattern spread across the face, again using a random point cloud. This was tested with increasing branch density by changing the branch cut off and created a range of very few branches randomly dispersed on the face, to a complete web which completely covered all aspects of the face.
Lastly the control points from the facial vein and artery ends, splits, and intersections were set as the root indeces in the script. This resulted in a pattern that followed the location of the facial veins and also considered the various facial features such as the eyes, nose, and mouth. This was then tested with increased density. An option was chosen based on the functional ability of the nose, mouth, and eye apertures. Additional branches were later added to create curved arms around the ears, so the mask could sit on the face without needing to hold it. The final mask is the result of branching veins spreading across the face, while avoiding apertures of the eyes and mouth. The area of the nose is densified, while still maintaining holes for breathing, this is to maximize the amount of CO2 removal in this area for breathing cleaner air. The branching density was also maximized, while still maintaining apertures, to increase the glow of the bioluminescence at night on the mask.
