Pete,
Very enjoyable. There is something Holy Grailish about it. I really like the timber on the assault vehicle thing.
King Arthur: Can we come up and have a look?
French Soldier: Of course not. You're English types.
King Arthur: What are you then?
French Soldier: I'm French. Why do you think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king?
Sir Galahad: What are you doing in England?
French Soldier: Mind your own business.
The honeycomb structure grows...
The first image shows one 10' tube's worth of 2.5" high cylinders. It took approximately 220 wire ties to connect the pieces. I'm going to increase the size to 36" on each side of the triangle. This is about the size of the triangular space I'm envisioning using for the underlying TIN support structure.
The second image shows the good curvature capabilities of the structure.
Does anyone have a good reference for the various flavors of expanding foam/glue?
Remus,
It's pretty tedious cutting the cylinders and drilling the holes but if you had the right tools and jigs it could go really fast. Putting the cylinders together with the wire ties goes quickly and is kinda fun.
Fred
I started putting together a prototype honeycomb membrane with 2" PVC pipe and wire ties. Although it may not look like much in these pictures, I think it is quite promising. I'm keeping the wire ties loose for now because I'm going to form a curve with the membrane and therefore want it to be flexible until I settle on the shape of the curve. Once I've got the membrane in the desired shape I'll inject expanding foam into the interstices between the circles and tighten up the ties.
Mike, the pictures should explain what I'm doing with the PVC. Pete, in theory I like the bubble wrap idea but implementation might be tough. What happens when the air starts to leak out?
The third image is of the simple jig used to mark where to drill holes for the wire ties.
Ross,
Thanks for responding. Interesting idea regarding the paper mache. There would need to be some sort of waterproof membrane (sheets of the boat-wrap type plastic?) on top but the combination might work nicely.
I just returned from Home Depot with 3 10' tubes of 2" diameter PVC plumbing pipe. I'm going to experiment with this as a substitute for bamboo. Here in the suburbs of NYC it is cheaper and more readily available. 
I'll have some pictures in a day or two.
Thanks again for the feedback.
Fred
jeff, not to worry, i forgot to mention the duct tape! fred
Remus,
Thanks for the feedback and the strip idea! I agree about manufacturing the bamboo honeycomb. However, the OAN folks are looking for systems and processes that can be built locally with mostly locally obtained materials. If the bamboo honeycomb were built as a community effort -kind of like barn raising back in the day- then it would be quite doable and people of every age and skill level could participate in the "weaving" of the mesh. I'm going to get a hold of some appropriate sized bamboo over the next few weeks and try some experiments. I'll let you know how it goes.
Could you do a quick SketchUp model of what you have in mind for the strips?
Thanks,
Fred
I've been playing around with an idea for the Open Architecture Challenge which involves a curvy roof.
The roof would be supported by a TIN like hexagonal mesh of bamboo struts. The hubs would be very simple. Three pieces of extruded aluminum wire held together with a wrapping of steel wire.
The ends of the aluminum wire would be glued into the hollow ends of bamboo struts, creating structures like this.
I've been really struggling to come up with an inexpensive material to layer over the TIN, which would in turn support the roof membrane. I think I want some kind of honeycomb like structure that could be filled with expanding foam. Last night I had the thought that if you cut bamboo poles into 2-3" long sections, you could connect these sections together with plastic wire wrap and build a strong but flexible honeycomb like structure.
I'd appreciate thoughts, feedback, reality checks.
Fred
Pilou,
Thanks for pointing out TopMod. It looks amazing, as do the models created with it. The thing I like about SketchUp is that it puts the fewest barriers between me and the computer model. What SketchUp lacks in tools and capabilities it more than makes up -at least for me- in simplicity, intuitiveness and fluidity.
Fred
@solo said:
....maybe even some 'Teletubby'
Noooooo! Arghhhhh! 
Next thing someone will be saying they are "smurfy" looking.
Fred
Taff,
Thanks for the patent/lawsuit information and heads up. I considered the possibility of doing something entrepreneurial with the TIN toy idea but backed away after talking with a few people. In particular, the CEO of Zome, who I unsuccessfully tried to interest in the idea, was quite enlightening about the difficult process of getting a new building toy into the market. I then decided to put the idea out there as an open source project. The basic pieces of the "system" are so simple and so few that this didn't seem overly presumptuous to me. Only four different pieces are necessary: 1-the hexagonal hub halves; 2-the bolt to tighten these together; 3-the spherical joints that rest in the hubs; and 4-the hollow threaded rods connecting the spherical joints. These can be seen in the image below.
While the Zome toy referenced above is well designed for building space frames it does not support building irregular TINs.
Fred
Alan,
Thanks for the links... and for the row of trees!
Gai,
If in your travels you happen to take some pictures of the local "organics" that would be great. Please don't go to any trouble.
Interesting you mention New England and architectural conservatism. Royal Barry Wills, MIT trained and Boston based, is little known now but was quite popular in the 30s and 40s for his work refining and updating the classic Cape Cod style house. My goal with these 2.0 designs is to develop houses that use the technology of our time but are as simple and refined as Wills' Capes.
Fred
The details are incredible. Are these 3d? If so they must be a bit large.
Tianne, Roger and -mirror,
Thanks for your kind words. With a little encouragement now and then I'll keep plugging away and see what develops.
Fred
Gaieus,
Thanks for your helpful thoughts on my question!
@gaieus said:
In my town there is a building that"merges" almost seamlessly into the hillside. Also there are a lot of them with quite organic shapes (there is a certain local architect who does these designs).
Any chance of a few pictures?
BTW, we aren't ALL conservative in the US! Frank Gehry may be from Canada but he lives and works here.
Fred
I produced the images below by having SketchUp do a whole lot of intersecting. The work involved was substantial -both for me and the computer- but it allowed me to at least approximate an impressionist take on a natural scene.
Hey guys, thanks for the feedback.
The model was fun to make but the 2nd floor interior walls and windows got a little tedious toward the end. I do like how the stairs turned out. I wanted to use TINs for the walls but they don't work well for heavily curved walls with thickness. Instead I used follow-me to drive the curved profiles along curved paths and then did some tweaking with the rotate tool.
The model - which the warehouse wouldn't load - is available here at the bottom of the page. I do not plan to render it but would love to see it rendered if someone feels like giving it a shot.
Regarding how to build the walls. I've given that some thought. I think an approach that might work is to build them up layer by layer about 6" a pour using a flexible thick but bendable plastic mold. One of these days I'll put together a SketchUp model of the jig I have in mind.
Fred
I think this turned out pretty well. Pushing the limits of what SketchUp can do with curves. Enjoy.
