Week 1- Compression Links to subject content Through this week’s material we were introduced to the concept of compression, which is when the load of a building/ force of gravity will always find, it’s way to the ground through following the buildings joints. The concept of compression was explored through being tasked to build the tallest and strongest structure from solid bricks that could also support an opening for an item. Description and Analysis of Construction System When we separated into our group to build a tower we were originally going to directly over lap each brick and building two square large bases that would then join higher up thus creating a space for the toy to fit inside our structure. However as we began to create this idea it became clear that it would be time consuming, and might not necessarily work. We were therefore prompted to create gaps when overlapping the building bricks, which allowed the load to find alternate ways to the ground. This therefore allowed us to create openings. We decided to stick with the idea of a larger square base that would eventually narrow, as it grew taller. As we were building the structure to narrow it also took on a more circular shape. Overall this technique was very effective as we were able to build a structure that reached the ceiling and was still able to stand as we removed large amounts of bricks.
These pictures show the progress of the structure being built and the overlay of the bricks with slight gaps, which allows the load to find a way to the ground through a variety of paths within the structure.