P1_progress_one

Browsing the asknature.org website, I became interested in viruses and their shell structure. Icosahedral structural symmetry makes up the protein shell and provides the maximum internal volume for viruses.

With regards to construction, the icosahedral form could minimize material use in built structures, easy assembly using subunit construction and economic construction using small units.

"There are several reasons why viruses adopt icosahedral symmetry. One is that triangulating a dome into 20 is the best way of producing a shell of equivalently bonded identical structures. It is the minimum free energy structure." (Cann 2004)

I also explored the functions of a typical virus, how it attaches to a host, how it infects a host, as well as the attachment between each viral cell. This is important for determining and designing connections between icosahedral shapes.

Transmission electron micrograph of an adenovirus.

I wanted to use the icosahedral form appropriately, so I decided to focus on creating a smaller scale and lighter structure. An initial decision was made to design a children's playground because of the monotony I see today in typical playgrounds within the North American context. However, this decision is not set in stone because I feel that it is equally possible to design an emergency shelter with this form and structure; both options interest me.

I intend to design based on the utilization of a common icosahedral shape and creating variations where it is deconstructed and morphed. These forms can further be attached to one another based on different requirements for different situations. Playgrounds in different settings (open space or spiraling a tree) or emergency shelters that last for a week or half a year will all have different requirements.

The icosahedron is a platonic solid that can be drawn with three golden ratio rectangles.

Here are a few examples of built works that caught my attention:

'starturn' by bruce munro at the holburne museum

'ring around a tree' by tezuka architects, tachikawa, tokyo, japan

The following two examples were both projects of interest but also allowed myself to explore possible construction methods using steel.

Regarding the recycling aspect, I anticipate that the number of different components as well as material waste to create this structure will be kept to a minimum. Maybe it will be possible to construct the structure with scrap steel?

'treehugger' by holger hoffmann + one fine day + university of applied sciences, trier, germany

'treehugger' by holger hoffmann + one fine day + university of applied sciences, trier, germany

'media-ICT building' by cloud 9, barcelona, spain

'media-ICT building' by cloud 9, barcelona, spain

Began modifying the icosahedron in rhino.

Let's see what forms I can generate...