Textile hybrid: based on isolated bent compression members
Master´s degree in Parametric Design in Architecture
III. BACKGROUND
Through the history the last 6 decades there have been some very
significant progress in the the matter. There are many books and
documents which treat this topic. For this research we will show
the main representative examples.
Due the fact that we are working with membrane structures
combined with bent beams, tensión and compression forces are
mixted. It seems that is a novel way fo designing. However this
concept applied to structures is not new and is known as
“Tensegrity”, coined officially by the engineer Buckminster
Fuller. Previous to him there were some advances in the same
concept and others in the field of tensile membrane structures.
Figure A1: “Study in balanced” by Karl Loganson. Year:1920
3.1. ORIGINS AND PIONEERS
3.1.1. KARL LOGANSON’S SCULPTURE
The first evidence found thorugh the history with the behaviour
of tesegrity was the sculpture called “Study in balance” (Figure
A1) in 1920, made by the artist Karl Loganson [Peña, 2012]. It
was presented in the Obmokhu Exhibition in Rusia. Loganson
was a co-founder of the “First working group of constructivists”.
He was a progressive artist, oriented to tecnology and engineer. In
the sculpture Loganson balance three inclined sticks that work in
compresion with a continuos string streesing the sticks. Also the
sculpture has the particularity of changing the shape. Pulling the
cord the inclination of the sticks change
Christina Lodder, scholarly of that time, she figured out the utility
of this structures for portable structures, furnitures and folding
roofs. Unfortunately Loganson´s work was not recognized in
Rusia.
Figure A2: “The X piece” by Kenneth Snelson. Year:1948
- Peña, D. 2012. Aplicacion de los principios del “tensegrity” a las construcciones textiles atirantadas. Research thesis.
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