Rice Architecture
21EM_X12
PHYSICAL MODEL
DIGITAL MODEL
PROCESS
EQUILIBRIUM MODEL / EXPERIMENT TWELVE
This model features a central element, a rectangular cube, held in suspension by fixed-length strings, strung over four angled dowels that are held by friction to the base. The angle of each dowel is determined by the tension needed to suspend the cube and create the necessary triangulation for appropriate structural support. This project explores the duality between the tensile forces that suspend the cube and the compression and friction forces that connect the base to the dowels to the string and finally to the cube, all working in unison.
The tensile forces in the fixed-length string, in order to support the cube, force triangular positions upon the dowels to allow the cube to hover in suspension. At the same time, the dowels use compression and friction forces to keep their angle in their given position to optimize structural strength and capacity. Each iteration expands upon this triangulation through a friction-ed peg board, stretching the exercise through experimentations of the locations of the dowels, the dowel size, string length, and height of the cube held in suspension. The result is a choreography across the base, a dance of structure, string, and element, stretching and compressing as needed to create the triangles needed to hold the central piece!
Nicole Yip
Gabriel Gomez-Raymundo Tasiana Paolisso