10/29/2015

Looking a bit further into the work of Calatrava it was interesting to se how he used tension to express action.  In his book "Conversations with Students" there was an interesting example of his use of tension to hold up an object.  He built his model using simple objects and the form was very expressive for a simple action illustrating the further use of tension beyond just the dome and using more formal or regular shapes.

 

Also this week I wanted to develop several models of icosahedron tensegrity with the object somewhat deformed.  I settled of equal deformation rather than random in order to keep with the particular qualities of the icosahedron.  In my first model I shrunk 1 of the compression members by several inches.  The results sowed me that the model wanted to maintain an equilibrium.  That is to say that the member I shrunk more or less centered itself within the model.  When I shrunk to of the parallel members I found that I new regular shape emerged.  It was rather like going from a square where all sides are equal in length to a rectangle where half the sides are equal and the other sides are of the same, different, length.  The shape immediately reminded me of a building block of some kind because of its more rectangular shape and prompted my next model to be a simple joining of two blocks.  It might be interesting to take this a bit further and join 8 models together to see what the form begins to look like although it might be just as simple now that I understand the reaction of the icosahedron to deformation to model this in the computer and save myself the cost of the materials.  Also I used shrink wrap to clad the models which led to interesting shapes not entirely dissimilar from the soap bubbles but not entirely the same either.  They to me resembled soap bubbles on the upper side of my models while my model last week looked like the soap bubbles on the underside.

 

 

 

 

Finally this week I started looking into activated tension a bit more and perhaps because my knowledge base beyond architecture is somewhat focused of outdoor adventure sports I began to look for examples of tension, tensegrity and activated tension in the outdoor recreation field.  This week there were two examples of objects that stuck in my mind.  The first obvious example of tensegrity and geodesics was the backpacking tent.  It is one of the most explicit examples of geodesics in my mind today.  These tents have been designed for extreme conditions and are quite wind resistant.  However in my search I also found a new style of tent that claims to be super light and maximizes space and efficiency.  This being the point of the geodesic dome I was expecting to see another such shape however this design was not so much a dome as a rectangle with the compression members forming an obtuse angle with one another or in other words getting further apart as they move upwards.  As an outdoorsman I can think of several reasons this would not be the greatest tent for me but the principal behind it and the end form was really interesting especially when they compared it to the dome saying that this new tent was to today as the dome tent was to the 80's.

 

 

Also I thought of the rock climbing cam as an example of activated tension.  The cam is activated by compressing your fingers and increasing the tension on the device which shrinks its size allowing it to fit into a crack or rock feature where it relies on friction and a simple spring to hold it in place.  When a fall occurs the device cams or in other words is put into compression the rock surrounding it.  This way it absorbs the tension force of the fall.  I thought this an interesting scale for activated tension. 

 



10/22/2015
This week I began by documenting my previous work again with a bit more clarity especially with the soap bubbles.  Then I enhanced my icosahedron by cladding it to reflect the soap bubbles and cladding the entire model.  The unintended side effect of this was that the cladding itself gave the model much more stability and strength than the original tension wires.  This brings up questions like could this be a potential avenue to explore, structural cladding systems, or is it not a scale-able concept.  I also read more from Eisenman and began looking into Calatrava and his architecture which seems to go hand in hand with my "lightness, flight" observations.  His architecture though not precisely in the same area to my original concept is a very close example of what maybe is called activated tension architecture.  I am trying to find a copy of the book Santiago Calatrava: Sculptectures.  I think his work contains part of what I am interested in perusing.  Also in relation to Calatrava's work I am diagraming what to me seems relevant to my project in a hangglider. 

 

Eisenman as it is relevant to me:
     Eisenman is well known for his almost formal approach to architecture and his distance as it were from free-form architecture.  But in reading his book the "Formal Critique of Modern Architecture" I could see several similarities between his observations of form and tensegrity.  Firstly he talks a great deal about the volume.  This is very much so what geodesics is about as well.  Geodesics concentrates on how to make the volume efficient.  The apparent rigidity of geodesics if it could be called that is a fallacy.  The geodesic is all about the efficient transfer of load.  There is also much regularity and repetition of form in geodesics that is only now being capitalized on with the advent of computers.  Finally the icosahedron though irregular amongst tensegrity models is a very regular shape with its compression and tension members requiring precise lengths to achieve.  And though the tension wires form a somewhat cellular shape the compression members are very conventional. 
     Eisenman makes the comment in his book that the volume must react to external conditions as well as being able to adapt to various internal situations.  This to me seems to reflect the ideas of tensegrity and geodesics.  I believe the word Eisenman uses is deform.  This is something that can literally be accomplished in geodesics.  I would suggest that though Eisenman was not a proponent of free form architecture the inherent regularity of tensegrity when applied to free form is still along the same track of "Formal Critique of Modern Architecture".

Calatrava's Milwaukee Art Museum: Perhaps Performance Activated Tension
   The museum is basically inspired by flight and the ocean.  Part of it resembles the prow of a ship and the shading device obviously resembles a bird or some other object in flight.  The part of the project that interests me however is the tensional possibilities it suggests.  Though not directly communicating the ideas of tension the shading device indicates the use of the building.  When the wings are up the building is open and when the wings are down it is closed.  This building is a great example of how a building can visually show changing conditions.  Calatrava is influenced by many of the same architects and ideas that have captivated Norman Foster, Otto Frei, and Buckminster Fuller.  His buildings seem to be pushing in the direction I am interested in. 

10/15/2015
This week I have been looking at different ways to understand my current tensegrity structures.  I have made a larger icosahedron model to hopefully be better able to experiment with different cladding systems.  As a sidenote this new model is made using fishing line so as to make the compression members appear to be floating.  I am looking at the works and writings of Norman Foster and Peter Eisenman this week.  These two primarily because they are very much so interested in the envelope as much if not more so than the structure which Frei and Fuller seem to be more interested in.  I am going to look at several cladding systems using soap bubbles and more simple and complex methods.  I also got the idea to look into different loading systems that appear not to be in use until they are activated.  The inspiration for this idea came from the hangglider which has several wires that are only in use at certain moments in flight, takeoff, and landing as well as ground handling.  Is it possible to make a structure perform this way in part?  How can form be derived from both external conditions as well as internal variances while adhering to tensegrity of structure?  Can tensegrity adapt to changes in the external environment while maintaining and creating internal conditions?
Can tensegrity responds to both internal and external situations that affect form?

 

Soap bubble experiment

 

10/8/ 2015
Working on the idea of tensegrity and how it could apply to my project.  I have spent the last week building three models to show how this could work.  The first model is a simple tensegrity structure with three compression components.  This model was to prove the concept from last week when my model broke as a result of inferior components.  The model was scaled up in order for a more accurate portrayal of the concept.  The second model is an icosahedron.  Which is basically a tensegrity model with 6 compression components that are either parallel or perpendicular to each other.  There may be some interesting options here that could be merged with conventional building.  The drawback to these models and any tensegrity model is that it is inherently inflexible because each of the tension lines needs to be pre stressed.  My third model was the most time consuming because of its complexity.  It is cast roughly off my model of the bubble under an external force.  It uses only strait members that are held in shape through tension in theory.  In practice the model needed glue to keep from falling apart before it was completed.  The tension elements do however retain the shape of the model which looks much better from the inside than the outside.  I have not concentrated a great deal on readings this week primarily focusing on the models.  However I have watched a few more lectures and read a couple critiques of the work of Norman Foster, Buckminster Fuller and Otto Frei.  I think I am still interested in a kind of tensegrity that can retains its form through tension.  Im not sure if the question should be; can envelope be supported through internal tensegrity which seems too much like an engineering question, or can built space be defined through irregular tensegrity.  These to me seem incomplete and missing an element that I have not found yet.  Maybe looking further into the works of more recent architects such as Norman Foster is the answer.  Otto Frei and Buckminster Fuller seem to approach membrane and tensegrity from an engineering standpoint, maybe an architects perspective will help.

The simple tensegrity model can carry a great deal of load without losing structural integrity

The icosahedron with its compression members either parallel of perpendicular to each other.

Bubble model using only rectangular shapes.  The form of the bubble is more clearly seen on the inside.