1.4_TENSILE PROPERTIES / ACTIVE BENDING

Due to the fiber direction caused by the distribution of cells, wood inherently has directionality. This directionality can be understood as variable strengths and stiffness. (A. Menges, 2012) This allows us to design structures that incorporate pliability as opposed to resist it entirely. Wood also shares properties with synthetic composites, such as glass-fiber-reinforced plastics which have a high strain at failure and low stiffness, but maintain a high amount of structural capacity. (A. Menges 2012) These properties lend themselves to constructing systems using bending methodologies. This creates an embedded energy in the wood through which the internal forces can be used to add stability. This added strength allows for the creation of very lightweight, thin structures with a high structural capacity.

ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2010:

This research pavilion demonstrates an alternative approach to computational design. Here, the computational generation of form is directly influenced by the physical behavior and characteristics of materials. The structure is entirely based on the elastic bending behavior of birch plywood strips. The resulting bending active structure is made up of very thin elastically bent plywood strips.