The inspiration for this project came from Cape Coral in Fort Myers, Florida, a neighbourhood where almost every house borders water due to a labyrinthine network of canals. The utopian grid-like environment represents a perfect symbiosis of nature and the built world. After reading a book on maze generation I decided to make my own generative waterway networks. I decided to vary the colours along the paths to show that while two areas may have close birds-eye proximity, it may take a while to canoe between the two.
I knew I wanted to have a very obvious corellation between my virtual and physical artefacts so chose laser cutting to recreate the mazes directly. I used different coloured paper to show the spread of water from the central source point; layered between acetate it gives the piece depth and tangibility. Because of the rambling nature of the mazes the laser cut pieces were very hard to align, but I think the slight misalignment compliments the layering and adds to the perception of depth. As well as the paper and acetate piece I cut a full maze into foamboard, intending to remove the inners and add water to try and recreate the motion of travel; the power of the laser melted too much of the inside foam for that to be viable, but the cut piece alone with its dips and raises casts intricate shadows and results in a tactile object of beauty.
Algorithms and inspiration from Mazes for Programmers by Jamis Buck.
Build files generated from this Codepen demo.
Physical artefact made with lasercut paper, foamboard, and acetate.