Rice Architecture
26MM_X12
The project develops form through a modular system that calibrates tension and force. A 1-inch grid on an acrylic grid frame organizes attachment points and dowel placement, while dowels increase in 3-inch increments to produce controlled variation across the surface. Vertical planes of attachment pull the membrane into tension, establishing fixed lines that register constraint within the field. In contrast, dowels act as compressive agents, pushing into the fabric to displace and deform it. The membrane was tuned through iterative testing of its behavior, adjustments to scale, edge treatment, and layering of fabric to see how force is absorbed. The system produces a suspended tensile surface shaped by varied anchor points, where each attachment introduces localized intensity that redistributes force across the field. The resulting space reads as a responsive enclosure, where shifting points of pull generate gradients of depth and height rather than a fixed boundary.
PHYSICAL MODEL


DIGITAL MODEL






















