Constructing Environments

CONSTRUCTING ENVIRONMENTS STUDIO TEN NAME: SI YANG STUDENT NO: 698893 GROU MEMBER: TABITHA YEOH, HESHAM MALIK, JERAD CHEN Constructing Environments

Si Yang

Week 1 Activity: Compression

In this week’s lecture, the teacher required the students to build a strong structure with at least 5cm high by using a piece of A4 paper to support a 15kg brick. As many structure showed from students, it seems the short cylinder is the best structure to support the brick.

The task from this week’s studio is to use less material to build a tower as high as possible. The tower is built by little wood blocks with an opening base to support the compression by tutor.

In our group, six by six pieces of wood blocks are provided to build the squared base of the tower. As the tower getting higher and higher, the wood blocks are reduced by four pieces for each side due to avoid the materials are exhausted and also the base is firm and unshakeable enough (Figure 1 &2).

Figure 1

Figure 2

When the tower reaches to a certain height, it gets skinnier by using less wood block. The smaller and lighter top can avoid the excessive of pressure to the bottom of tower (Figure 3 &4).

Two good examples show the tower getting smaller on the top is Pyramid and Oriental Pearl.

Figure 3

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Figure 4

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The materials run out before finishing builds the tower. Then the tutor destroys the bottom of the tower by get rid of those wood blocks in the middle. This shows how many materials that are wasted previously. The structure of the tower is very stable, there is not shaking when the wood blocks been removed. Those wood blocks can be used to re-build the top of tower (Figure 5&6).

As the tower getting higher and smaller, the less material is used. As Figure 7 shows, the top of tower is heading to the left, this is caused by the force area of the bottom of tower. The more wood blocks are removed, the less force area it is. Because the force from bottom is not balance, the spire would head to the light side makes it balance.

Figure 8

Figure 9

After finishing builds the tower, the wood blocks can be still removed from the bottom. Because the structure of squared base is stable enough, which means the tower can stand as Eiffel Tower with four legs. But once there is too many wood blocks taken away, the rest of wood blocks cannot support such tall tower anymore, the structure would be collapse.

Figure 10 Figure 5

Figure 6 Figure 7

Constructing Environments

Si Yang

As the picture shows on the left, the wood block on the top assumes as the live loads, the loads transferred into the other two wood blocks. The loads travel in two directions to these two wood blocks and make they are ways down through this structure by other wood blocks which support them. Then it will be supported by the ground, so that means the whole structure is stable.

However, it is another situation for the next picture. As the picture shows, the reaction force is opposite between left and right. This can be defined that the force of structure is heavier in the left. All forces are concentrated to the left, so the reaction force towards in the ground; but in the right side, there are three wood blocks support the structure, so the reaction force towards to the wood blocks.

Constructing Environments

Si Yang

Week 2 Activity: Frame

In this week’s lecture, the teacher required the students to build a structure of ‘water tank’ that can be supported by live loads as much as it can.

The water tank is container created by straws, pin pins and a plastic container. As many different structures straw showed from student, each straw is more stable by using two pins to fix on the container.

The task from this week’s studio is to use thin pieces of balsa wood that has cut from single piece of balsa to build a stable tower, reach to the ceiling.

The thin piece of balsa wood is close to 1cm wide and 60cm long.

In our group, the 1cm × 60cm long balsa wood piece is cut by 3 of 1cm × 20cm long pieces. We found that the triangle-base is the most stable structure than others, so the middle triangle is the main construction that would build up, and other three triangles are supported by the main construction. Double pins are used to fix on the joints of two pieces of balsa wood (Figure 1,2 &3).

Figure 2

Figure 1

Figure 3

The next step is to build up the tower.

Three of 1cm × 60cm long balsa woods are connected together by 2 pins for each joint. To build the tower up, the ‘Z’ shaped is required between each long balsa wood (Figure 4&5).

Figure 4

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Figure 5

Si Yang

Our group discussed that extends the ‘Z’ shaped when the tower getting higher and higher, but actually the material is not enough to use as supporting the tower to reach the ceiling.

Therefore, a new plan is decided. Each 20cm high, a 20cm long balsa wood would be jointed between two long balsa woods (the 3 × 60cm long one), also a 60cm long balsa wood joint with the horizontal 20cm balsa wood (the one that connect between the long balsa wood) based on the outside triangle on the bottom (Figure 6&7).

Figure 6

The two dimension view shows on the right that the big triangle on the picture as the tower and the hypotenuse of the small triangle as the supporting balsa wood.

However, the tower tilts to one side when it loses its holding by hands. Hence, our group is failed by building the tower with balsa wood.

Actually this tower can be collapsed without any external force, but the tutor and we still want to test which point can the whole structure collapse.

As Figure 8&9&10 show, when the tutor subject the tower to a variety of forces, the connecting balsa wood which shows as above two dimension view, collapse first. Also all the joints that does not have two pins are collapse as well.

Figure 9

Figure 7

Figure 8 Figure 10

Constructing Environments

Si Yang

The idea of our group is to build a most stable strcutre – triangular body.

The first and the most important problem is that every joint shoud be used two pins but in this tower, some joints did not; the second one is that the design of the tower has some problem such as those three outside triangles seem does not help for the whole structre; third problem is that the base of the whole structure is too small that it cannot support the tower to reach the ceiling.

Therefore, solutions for the tower to reach the ceiling can be: two pins are used for evey joint; extend the base to a suitable size such as 40 × 40 × 40cm instead of 20 × 20 × 20cm; for those three 3 × 60cm long balsa woods, it can be fixed by triangle for every joint shows on the right.

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Glossary: Compression: a force that is extruded, pressed Tension: a force that is pulled Live load: a load that can move such as furniture, people Dead load: a load that cannot move such as wall Load path: a force path that pass through the structure by each connecting point Reaction force: a force that against with action force Joint: a point that connect materials

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Reference:

Newton, Clare. “Load path” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y__V15j3IX4&feature=youtu.be Ching, Francis D.K. “Building construction illustrated” (4th Edition) (page 2.03) Newton, Clare. “Construction systems” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zTarEeGXOo&feature=youtu.be Newton, Clare. “Structural connections” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxRdY0jSoJo&feature=youtu.be

Constructing Environments

Si Yang