Puffer1-1a

The idea for these 2 designs came from the Bejing Olympics Aquatics building. That's the one with the semi-transparent hexagonal panels that are puffed out sort of like bubbles.

Well, it turned out making a surface like that was not a simple as it seems. It is necessary to start with a flat hexagonal shape because hexagons are one of just a few equilateral figures that can tile an area with no gaps. Adding the puffiness was the real problem, and these 2 designs are the result.

Puffer1 has all the hexagons lined up in rows and columns, which gives a very regular and structured look. But if you look closely you'll see that each hexagon has a gentle point at the center and rounded edges that connect that point to each corner. This is not a smooth "puffed up" shape at all, but was my best approximation to one.

Puffer1a is different. That one has the hexagons arranged randomly both in size and location, and each one has a smoothly rounded contour with no edges. In other words, each