George W. Hart
Blorb is a 3D-printed sculpture
based on the (3,1)-Goldberg polyhedron. This
refers to the pattern of the hexagonal and pentagonal
openings, and the paths between five-sided
openings. To learn about Goldberg polyhedra, see this
video. I gave the design an organic,
undersea feeling by putting colored tubules around it,
growing from all the vertices. It is produced on a
color 3D printer.
The length of the tubules increases
towards the top, which adds to its naturalness and has
an engineering purpose as well: The very bottom
tubules are of negligible length, so they will not
break in carrying the weight of the sculpture.
The above video gives a good sense
of its 3D structure. And here is a high resolution image.
