vigintipede table david for tino
concept statement
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vigintipede table
Concept: This table is meant to create a visual movement through the transformation of a very sharp diamond shape into a
simple rectangle. In the beginning of my design process, my goal was to capture a natural evolution process and translate it into a piece of furniture. I then became interested in how pure geometric shapes can change and transform into one another. Once this process is translated into architecture, it creates a visual sensation of movement throughout that object which is what I decided to go after. Another concept in this table is visual beauty created by perfect proportions throughout the table and by the pure geometric shapes used in the transformation process.
Process: I decided to choose two simple and elegant four sided shapes for the transformation process in the table structure.
Starting out with the sharp diamond shape, each of the four corners gets either pulled inward towards the center or outward to a certain degree at each stage of the transformation until it becomes a rectangle. There are six stages to the transformation process and each have the same amount of movement in them. This is made possible through a grid I created which carries the same proportions of the rectangle in the center of the table structure.
Proportions: The table is designed to be as proportional as possible in every aspect. It follows a very purist belief that pure
geometric shapes, perfect proportions, axial symmetry, and a highly calculated form will create beauty in architecture. This being said, the pieces in the table are symmetrical in both the x and y axes. They are also mirrored at each stage of the transformation to create a prefect line of symmetry down the table structure. The dimensions of the table itself are also in perfect proportion. It is 18” wide x 36” long x 18” tall and can separate at the center to make two equal sized 18”by 18” tables. The rectangle at the center of the table is 9” wide by 18”tall and is exactly 1/18 the size of the grid that was created for the transformation process to follow for the diamond shape to become this rectangle.
Materials: 1/4” clear acrylic sheets are used for the table structure where the transformation occurs. This makes the transfor-
mation process very readable by only outlining the shapes in a wireframe fashion. The spacers are made from 1/4” black acrylic and are attached to the clear acrylic with 3-1/2” carriage bolts. Clear acrylic washers are also used to separate the spacers from the clear acrylic to create the appearance that the spacers are merely floating cubes in the table structure.
Spacers: The spacers add another layer of transformation throughout the table because of the way they follow the outer edges of the shapes in the table structure. The spacers start off in only one location at the center of the sharp diamond shape, then split off and move throughout the table structure following the x and y axes of symmetry as the shapes get larger and closer to becoming a rectangle. These spacers act as the visual spine of the table structure, creating a somewhat animalistic vocabulary in the table structure.
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study models
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vigintipede table
Materials: 3/16” Foam Core Scale: 3” = 1’-0” (1/4 scale) Intended Material: 1/2” Birch Plywood Sheets Concept Goal: To create a table design that captured an
organic transformation through depicting certain section cuts at a 1:1 plywood sheet to open air ratio. This tabled could represent anything from sections of a tree to the motion of a water droplet.
Materials: 3/16” Foam Core Scale: 3” = 1’-0” (1/4 scale) Intended Material: 1/2” Birch Plywood Sheets Concept Goal: To create a sense of visual movement that
evolves from the tabletop. The tabletop gets melted down on each slat following the flow of lava, and each has a different location and depth to it. This also makes the table look like it is floating since only a few points touch ground.
Materials: 3/16” Foam Core Scale: 3” = 1’-0” (1/4 scale) Intended Material: 3/4”x2” Strips of Maple or Red Oak Concept Goal: To manipulate the leg structure of a table
in order to create movement and flow throughout the table structure. Each leg is a different size, but they are all oriented to touch both the tabletop and ground. This also creates a unique flow of light through the leg structure.
Materials: 1/16” Matt Board Scale: 3” = 1’-0” (1/4 scale) Intended Material: 3/8” Birch Plywood Sheets Concept Goal: To create a contradiction within the table
by having one shape mirror itself over and over in order to create both the table structure and the tabletop itself. This repetition also creates aesthetic beauty and a unique flow of light through the layers of the table.
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study models
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vigintipede table
Materials: 1/16” Matt Board Scale: 3” = 1’-0” (1/4 scale) Intended Material: 3/8” Birch Plywood Sheets Concept Goal: To investigate the process of which one
four sided shape can transform into another, in this case a rectangle. It also helped to understand the proportions at each stage of the transformation and how many steps it takes to create a strong sense of visual movement.
Materials: 1/8” Matt Board Scale: 3” = 1’-0” (1/4 scale) Intended Material: 1/2” MDF Sheets Painted Black Concept Goal: To combine all my previous concepts into
one table design by creating a design where one shape is transformed into another in the structure of the table, creating the visual movement and aesthetic beauty I am after.
Materials: 1/8” Clear and Bronzed Acrylic Scale: 3” = 1’-0” (1/4 scale) Intended Material: 1/4” Clear & Bronzed Acrylic Sheets Concept Goal: Investigate different materials to make
the transformation process through the table structure more readable, and get a layering effect with the material. Also, to let the spacers create another sense of visual movement in the table structure.
Materials: 1/8” Clear and Bronzed Acrylic Scale: 3” = 1’-0” (1/4 scale) Intended Material: 1/4” Clear & Bronzed Acrylic Sheets Concept Goal: To refine the proportions and scale of the
transformation process in the table structure, spacers and spacing of acrylic shapes, as well as the dimensions of the table itself.
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full scale models
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vigintipede table
Materials: 1/4” Clear Acrylic, 1.25”x1.25”x.75” Maple Spacers, Flathead zinc plated bolts/nuts Scale: 1:1 (Full scale) Intended Material: Same as materials used
Model Goal: To investigate the size and orientation of the spacers in the table structure. Also to investigate different species of wood that can be used, and how it effects the table aesthetically.
Materials: 1/4” Clear Acrylic, 1.25”x1.25”x1.5” Maple Spacers, Flathead zinc plated bolts/nuts Scale: 1:1 (Full scale) Intended Material: Same as materials used
Model Goal: To investigate the spacing of the clear acrylic sheets and how/what kind of wood and hardware needed to created these connections.
Materials: 1/4” Clear Acrylic, 1.25”x1.25”x1.25” Black Acrylic spacers, S/S carriage bolts/nuts, no washers Scale: 1:1 (Full scale) Intended Material: Same as materials used
Model Goal: To investigate the aesthetic achieved by using black acrylic spacers instead of wood spacers to separate the clear acrylic sheets in the table structure.
Materials: 1/4” Clear Acrylic, 1.25”x1.25”x1.25” Black Acrylic spacers, S/S carriage bolts/nuts, zinc washers Scale: 1:1 (Full scale) Intended Material: Same as materials used
Model Goal: To investigate the aesthetic achieved by using zinc washers to separate the black acrylic spacers from the clear acrylic sheets, see how many washers are needed, and how many layers of black acrylic are need.
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design refinements
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vigintipede table
Materials: 1/4” Clear Acrylic, 1.25”x1.25”x1.25” Black Acrylic spacers, S/S carriage bolts/nuts, acrylic washers Scale: 1:1 (Full scale) Intended Material: Same as materials used
Model Goal: To investigate the aesthetic achieved by using acrylic washers to separate the black acrylic spacers from the clear acrylic sheets, see how many washers are needed, and how many layers of black acrylic are need.
This was the study that I did in order to refine the proportions and dimensions of the shapes in the transformation process, to govern how much movement occurs at each stage of the transformation, set up the overall dimensions
of the table including the height, width of the tabletop, width of the widest shape, width of the narrowest shape, and overall aesthetic of the table’s wireframe and perspective.
The first image on the left is of the grid that I developed for the transformation process to follow, which is 1/18 the size of the rectangle in the center of the table structure. The image in the middle shows the final table wireframe
in the grid. The last image on the right shows the perspective of the final table and the overall beauty achieved through perfect proportions in the transformation process as well as in the dimensions of the table itself.
The image on the left shows the spacer locations within the wireframe of the table, and how they systematically move from the center of the table, down both axes, until the reach the outer edge of the largest shapes. The image
on the right shows a side elevation of the table and how the spacers split off and flow up and down the sheets of acrylic until they end up at the rectangle in the center.
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construction
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vigintipede table
This image shows the (7) 18”x24” sheets of 1/4” clear acrylic that were used to create the table structure. This file was then imported into the laser cutters in the Arch Annex which cut these shapes out of the acrylic sheets
over a matter of 4 hours. This was the best layout for these sized sheets in order to be as efficient as possible with the material since it is very expensive.
This image on the left is of a 3/16”x3-1/2” stainless steel carriage bolt that was used as the fasten in the table structure. The image in the center shows the laser cutting file I created in order to cut out the 300 black 1/4” thick
spacers needed in the table structure. The image on the right shows the laser cutting file I created to cut out the 500 clear 3/32” washers needed to separated the black spacers from the clear acrylic in the table structure.
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cost analysis
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vigintipede table
Material
Use In Table
Supplier
Size
Finish
Quantity Cost Each Sub-Total
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Acrylic
Tabletop Main Structure
Illini Plastic Supply
18”x24”x1/4”
Clear
7
$24.50
$184.36
2
Acrylic
Spacers In Connections
Illini Plastic Supply
18”x32”x1/4”
Black
1
$46.20
$49.67
3
Acrylic
Washers In Connections
Illini Plastic Supply
10”x14”x3/32” Clear
1
$8.56
$9.20
4
Carriage Bolts
Fastener In Connections
Fastenal
3/16”x3-1/2”
Stainless Steel
60
$0.38
$24.51
5
Nuts
Fastener In Connections
Fastenal
3/16”x24
Stainless Steel
60
$0.06
$3.87
6
Glass
Tabletop
Bacon & VanBuskirk
18”x18”x1/4”
Clear Glass
2
$17.01
$35.61
Total
$307.22
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thank you. 1177