Form can often take various subjective outcomes, but what might appear “beautiful” to terrestrial organisms might not necessarily be beneficial for aquatic ones. Form must also follow the symbiotic nature of the observed ecosystem by accommodating a multitude of aquatic organisms. Surface, as opposed to volume, is an important characteristic of the form of an object designed for aquatic applications in that it becomes real estate for many different micro organisms, algae, and crustaceans. These hanging prototypes were designed to hang from the experimental floating research facility, Buoyant Ecologies Float Lab, in the San Francisco Bay.

The methodology in design of a fabricated object is not just for one specific organism but for a diversity of intermingling agents which promote ecosystem health and increased calcium carbonate production. Surface is an important characteristic of an object designed for aquatic applications in that it becomes real estate for many different organisms. In coral, an algae called Zooxanthellae utilizes coral polyp waste products to photosynthesize nutrients and food for the growing coral polyp in a symbiotic relationship. The Zooxanthellae live on the surface of the coral in order to maximize its exposure to sunlight. This observation has led to the conclusion that there is a direct correlation between surface topology, marine life biodiversity, and ecosystem health.

The generation and creation of surface texture is very laborious when left to the hand and is often imprecise or limiting with regard to mechanical or chemical means of surface manipulation. For this reason, computationally derived surfaces are employed through the creation of procedural algorithms as applied to surface of an object in order to maximize surface area through rugosity.

These particular pieces are computationally designed in their surface to accommodate a variety of biological life on their surface, similar to the marine ecosystem of biofouling. By utilizing Coral Carbonate, 3D printed calcium carbonate, an endlessly imaginable combination of surface qualities can be created on demand to accommodate various identified characteristics required by marine life.