An experiment in whether algorithms can create things worth keeping.

Tree Table

Procedural Generation Recycled Materials Algorithmic Design

QUESTION NO. 100-2016-03

WHAT IF WE COULD DIGITALLY GROW FURNITURE?

← Swipe to explore branches →

Not design it branch by branch. But grow it—the way a tree grows.

Resolute Chair showing tree structure design

It Started with a Chair

We had already answered one question: What would a 3D printed chair look like?

The answer was the Resolute Chair—designed like a tree. Root system at its base for stability. Strong trunk rising vertically. Branches spreading into a canopy where a person can sit.

We designed it this way because a tree's structure is inherently self-supporting. No support material needed during printing. Just growth logic translated into form.

Sculpting the Resolute Chair took a long time. Every branch, every curve, every connection—hand-crafted.

Beautiful, but slow.

Teaching Code to Grow

What if we didn't have to sculpt each tree? What if we could create a system that grew them for us?

The Algorithm

We started experimenting with OpenSCAD—writing algorithms that could procedurally generate tree geometry.

Instead of sculpting branches one at a time, we created rules:

• Start with 1, 2, or 3 main branches
• Each branch splits into 2-5 smaller branches
• Those branches split again into 1-2 sub-branches
• Repeat, twist, taper, spread

The algorithm would produce tree after tree after tree. We could generate in minutes what would have taken weeks to sculpt by hand.

Procedurally generated tree variations in OpenSCAD

Hundreds of Possibilities

Each one unique. Each one following the same growth logic but arriving at different forms.

Procedurally generated tree variation - tall and slender

Tall & Slender

Variation 1

Wide Canopy

Variation 2

Procedurally generated tree variation - dense branches

Dense Branching

Variation 3

Procedurally generated tree variation - asymmetric

Asymmetric Growth

Variation 4

Procedurally generated tree variation - minimal

Minimal Structure

Variation 5

Balanced Form

Variation 6

Different Proportions

Variation 7

Alternative Branching

Variation 8

We fell in love with one particular tree.

The proportions. The balance. The way the branches reached up to support a surface.

It felt right. It was time to make it real.

But here we were, replicating nature in plastic.

A NEW QUESTION EMERGES

How could we make this meaningful? Not just a demonstration of what 3D printing can do, but something people would want to keep, something that honored the natural form we were mimicking?

Tree Table being 3D printed layer by layer from recycled filament

79 Bottles, One Tree

What if we could make it better for the planet, not just another plastic object?

That's when we discovered Reflow's recycled filament—plastic made from 100% recycled single-use bottles.

The Tree Table is printed from 79 single-use plastic bottles.

Bottles that were headed for landfills or oceans were instead recycled, melted down, extruded into filament, and printed layer by layer into this branching structure.

The print took days. The tree grew slowly, predictably, following the algorithm's instructions.

Roots first, then trunk, then branches spreading upward.

Rescued Glass

A table needs a surface. The tree structure became a base—but for what?

To stay true to the spirit of the project, we went hunting for discarded furniture.

We found a glass tabletop that had been thrown away, destined for the dump. It was the perfect size.

We rescued it, cleaned it, and placed it on top of the branches.

Now we had elevated two things: single-use plastic bottles and discarded furniture—transformed together into an heirloom piece.

Reclaimed glass tabletop rescued from discarded furniture

From Algorithm to Heirloom

Tree Table in use with books and objects on top

The completed Tree Table in use

Tree Table side view showing full structure

Side view revealing the tree structure

Close-up of branches meeting glass surface

Where branches meet glass—nature and craft converging

Close-up showing recycled plastic layer lines

Recycled plastic texture—79 bottles transformed

The limitations became the story. The constraints—using recycled materials, finding discarded glass—made the piece more meaningful, not less.

A piece of furniture grown by code from recycled materials

Recycled Bottles Transformed into Furniture

2016

Year Created

Levels of Branching

100%

Recycled Content

One-of-a-Kind Piece

OpenSCAD

Procedural Generation

Reflow

Recycled Filament Partner

FDM

3D Printing Technology

It sits at the intersection of nature and technology, waste and value, generation and curation.

Interested in a Procedurally Generated Piece?

Each tree is unique—grown by algorithm, made from recycled materials. Commission a piece for your space.

Commission a Piece More Stories

Collaborators

Isaac Budmen Reflow (recycled filament)