Fiction writers have long postulated the emergence of intelligent molecules a billionth of a metre in diameter that determine their own shape in order to best serve their structural purpose. Two engineers at University College London have evolved mass production of materials into customisation to make this reality. Working at the millimetre — rather than the nanometre -scale, architect and research engineer Sean Hanna and roboticist and computer scientist Siavash Haroun Mahdavi have developed evolutionary algorithms that create self-supporting forms that adapt themselves to maximise strength while minimising weight. They have combined this with cutting-edge rapid prototyping technology (stereolithography) to generate a 3D scale model from a digital image using a low-powered laser to 'cure' photosensitive polymers. They also use laser sintering, which melts thin layers of a polymer-and-sand powder with a CO_2 laser. Structural optimisation is nothing new to architecture, which deals with structures containing hundreds or thousands of members. For example, the British Museum has about 5,000 elements to it.
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