This paper presents the project of a tensegrity pavilion dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Snelson (1927-2016), the American artist who invented tensegrities and popularized them with the sculptures he built worldwide. The shape of the pavilion, based on a combination of X-Modules, is that of a “gate”, so that when walking through it, one can observe on the sides and above the transparent “floating-compression” arrangement of struts and cables. The choice of materials employed in the construction – bars in fir-wood for struts and recycled sailing ropes for cables - is also inspired by the Snelson’s tensegrity primary plywood “X-Piece”, complying with a fabrication and assembly procedure conceived to maximize simplicity and recyclability. The form finding of the pavilion was carried out by energy minimization on a virtual elastic structure, while for the structural design, a linearized static and dynamic analysis was performed considering own weight load and live loads. The geometry developed for the nodal connections between struts and cables has been realized by the Italian company Progetto Legno, according to a customized fabrication process.

Brusciotti, F., Giannetti, I., Micheletti, A., Nwokoye, S., Ruggeri, D., Ruscica, G. (2019). Tribute to Kenneth Snelson. In Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2019 – Structural Membranes 2019 - Form and Force. International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS).

Tribute to Kenneth Snelson

Ilaria Giannetti;Andrea Micheletti
;
2019-01-01

Abstract

This paper presents the project of a tensegrity pavilion dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Snelson (1927-2016), the American artist who invented tensegrities and popularized them with the sculptures he built worldwide. The shape of the pavilion, based on a combination of X-Modules, is that of a “gate”, so that when walking through it, one can observe on the sides and above the transparent “floating-compression” arrangement of struts and cables. The choice of materials employed in the construction – bars in fir-wood for struts and recycled sailing ropes for cables - is also inspired by the Snelson’s tensegrity primary plywood “X-Piece”, complying with a fabrication and assembly procedure conceived to maximize simplicity and recyclability. The form finding of the pavilion was carried out by energy minimization on a virtual elastic structure, while for the structural design, a linearized static and dynamic analysis was performed considering own weight load and live loads. The geometry developed for the nodal connections between struts and cables has been realized by the Italian company Progetto Legno, according to a customized fabrication process.
IASS Symposium 2019 – Structural Membranes 2019 - Form and Force
Barcelona, Spain
2019
Rilevanza internazionale
contributo
2019
Settore ICAR/08 - SCIENZA DELLE COSTRUZIONI
Settore ICAR/10 - ARCHITETTURA TECNICA
English
https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iass/piass/2019/00002019/00000005/art00007
Intervento a convegno
Brusciotti, F., Giannetti, I., Micheletti, A., Nwokoye, S., Ruggeri, D., Ruscica, G. (2019). Tribute to Kenneth Snelson. In Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2019 – Structural Membranes 2019 - Form and Force. International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS).
Brusciotti, F; Giannetti, I; Micheletti, A; Nwokoye, S; Ruggeri, D; Ruscica, G
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2108/238418
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