DIY: Tensegrity Tables
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 06.14.07
Buckminster Fuller is one of TreeHugger's heroes. Aside from his awesomely radical, ultra-efficient designs, of which the geodesic dome is probably most well-known, anyone who wrote a book called “Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth” gets 'hugged for sure. One of his other concepts, coined for artist Kenneth Snelson, is "tensegrity" -- the combination of tensional integrity -- which results "when push and pull have a win-win relationship with each other," and it can create some really interesting designs from a minimal amount of materials. Take the tensegrity table, for example; by carefully combining "push-pull" elements, a table can be created from a single rod, a piece of glass and a handful of steel wires. Pretty cool, but also pretty expensive; this one (pictured above, on the left) goes for £449 and this one for £766 -- ouch. Justin over at materialicious recently came across several DIY versions that employ the same idea and physics, but can be yours for a small fraction of the price, given your willingness to put a few hours of math and labor into it. They all use fairly similar combinations of materials: small variations on copper tubing, picture-hanging wire, rivets, rubber stoppers and a glass tabletop are about all you need; the
one from Trevor's home page is pictured above, at right, but there are similar tables (all complete with instructions) at Copper.org and MAKE: Blog (pictured after the jump). We've covered a similar project before -- a DIY version MoMA's Satellite Bowl -- that might look good on top of your new Tensegrity table. Check 'em all out and learn more about having a small piece of a Bucky Fuller idea at ::materialicious
Instructions available at copper.org
This one via MAKE: Blog
Fuller apparently appropriated the Tensegrity principle from an individual he was working with at the time. Fuller tried to take full credit for it on several occasions. For all that Fuller was a groundbreaking genius, this is a critical failure.
Tensegrity structures can use very simple materials, although they can be quite complex and difficult to envision during the construction process. They are very sturdy and fascinating in their behavior.
Tensegrity is a circumstance where the compression elements of a structure are kept fully separated and stabilized by the tension elements. Truly an amazing and unprecedented way of creating structures. A coffee table is a needless and trivial application of this principal.
The glass-topped example to the upper left is only marginally a tensegrity structure. The wires serve only as stabilizing elements, while the glass top rests on the vertical rod. It is really no more than a center post table. I'm not even sure that a single compression element can actually qualify as a tensegrity structure.
Also, for the practical minded reading this, a tensegrity structure will respond immediately to new loads and forces, distributing the forces around the structure. An unbalanced load on the table top will cause the top to slope, any load will cause the table top to sink slightly.
Jon: If Fuller did steal the credit for tensegrity, whom should we give proper recognition to? I appreciate your pointing out that credit is due elsewhere; could you find out to whom it belongs? Thanks.
i was at the storm king sculpture park in new york state recently where i was surprised to see the invention of tensegrity credited to the sculptor kenneth snelson, when i understood it was bucky. maybe they are right?
Yes, Kenneth Snelson came up with the concept of "tensegrity" as applied to engineering/architecture/art. Snelson himself observes that tensegrity exists in natural structures, e.g. molecular bonds, so "inventing" tensegrity is perhaps not the most accurate way to put it.
Buckminster Fuller coined the term and popularized it, many believe without giving Snelson adequate credit. Whether that is stealing or not is up to your definition.
Keneth Snelson, a student of Fuller's at Black Mountains College in the 1940's, built a model of a discontiuous compression structure, which Fuller unfortunately later represented as Fuller's own invention. The credit should go to Snelson, not Fuller.