Communities::Branching

The world of computing follows the natural world from time to time. Where it does, these ideas can be incorporated at the start of a new project, to make it easier to integrate physical design characteristics with abstract design characteristics. One of these aspects is called "branching". The name means exactly what it implies. A branch can grow off the main trunk and then be pruned off or moved at a later date. When careful thought is given to physical design based on this abstract concept, the result can be very powerful.

For example, in the design shown below, a ring road surrounds the entire community. This means that at some indefinite point in the future, a dome could be constructed over top of the entire community, if the technology and climate warrant it. In addition, the open hexagonal structure allows for internal growth, if needed. Since each cluster of dwellings can be self sufficient in terms of energy, food and water, and the entire community is also self sufficient, growth could occur in much the same way that a cell does.

Developing data and 3D structures at the same time, as well as their projected growth patterns, can make it easier for the growth to happen in a systematic fashion. For example, the roles that people perform in the community need to be defined, which needs to be captured in a set of documents. These need to be stored somewhere. Taking a 3D layout and using it to determine what to call the folders and how to structure them makes it easier for people to access those documents. As the community grows, the folder structure can grow with it, in exactly the same fashion. If the community grows to a point where it splits and divides, that folder structure can simply be copied and pasted with a new name for the root folder in about the same time it has taken to type this sentence.