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.