Seoyeon Lee: Difference between revisions

The project '''''Small Stones In Concrete''''' began with a simple moment: while collecting small stones in front of my house, I accidentally picked up a piece of concrete, mistaking it for a stone. When I realized that it was not a stone but concrete, I found myself thinking, “It really looks like a stone.” This led me to a series of questions: What makes a stone a stone? Why can this object not be considered a stone? Interestingly, the concrete itself contained many small, real stones. Despite holding so many stones within it, why can this mass not be a stone? As these questions accumulated in my mind, I began this project as an exploration of what fundamentally defines a stone.

[[File:Microscope.jpg|center|thumb|703x703px|Microscopic view of concrete]]

To examine the essence of concrete, I visited a Bio Lab and observed concrete under a microscope. Inside, I found countless small stones, and around them, even traces of moss were growing, making it appear as if a small world existed within. Through this process, I became increasingly interested in these small stones. It led me to wonder whether these tiny elements might actually be what supports the concrete itself. In fact, concrete is made by mixing water, cement, and aggregates such as gravel and sand. These small stones, in particular, are essential for giving concrete its strength and durability, preventing it from easily breaking apart. Although they are too small to be clearly recognized without a microscope, the presence of these countless tiny stones ultimately makes the existence of concrete possible.

[[File:Simulation3.png|center|thumb|680x680px|Data-driven simulation]]

Finally, I went through the process of transferring the data of these small stones into the digital world. I began by 3D scanning the concrete, importing its form, and reducing it to only its outline. I then placed the stones according to the positions recorded in the data sheet and applied their respective widths and heights. In addition, I translated the total points—referring to the visible protrusions observed on each stone—into the digital space by assigning the same number of points to each corresponding stone. Although I transferred nearly all of the measured data, one crucial question remained: how should the points of each stone be connected? This aspect remained unknown. I decided to explore this infinite range of possibilities through simulation. The continuously generated random stones reflect the original data of real stones, yet their forms are infinitely variable. Is it truly possible to fully translate the essence of a stone into the digital realm? This question remains open.