In this tiled surface design, the pathways channeling water tangentially branch off 3 (repeated) closed loops. Each of these 3 geometric loops are radially-symmetrical about a combinatory corner of the original hexagonal tile. The three loops have 3 different scales of visual prominence. In the least prominent of the 3, the loop becomes secondary to the web of tangent paths surrounding it.

The tool paths of the CNC routing bits are individually legible, but explicitly follow the primary geometries (a technique similar to those of Intaglio engraving, where the shape of the tool is exploited to lend varying degrees of sharpness or softness to the design).

3d printed joints have two categorical ways to interact with thin fiberglass rods. The joint may either constrain the rod, or traverse along its length. In this design, we explored the possibility that each 3d printed component could introduce a new control point to the geometry of a rod’s vector, in addition to the “joint” operation.

The geometry of the 3d printed components is derived from this objective. The closed loop of an orientable surface is perpendicular to the rod’s vector on the apex that the rod passes through, and parallel to its vector on the apex that offers a second control point. The loop geometry is also designed to 1) minimize material without sacrificing the component’s bending strength and 2) meet additive manufacturing’s desire for geometrical self-support during printing.

Each element in this design is a rectangular wood strip of the same length. The width of the strips begins at 4cm and decreases gradually as the structure continues up. Structurally, the tower is organized in two perpendicular axes, crossing at a central datum. In both axes, the strips bend in an alternating pattern as they go up, switching direction at each bend’s apex. Within each axis, the strips notch together when they cross. When the two axes cross at the central datum, they weave through each other. This weaving joint (along with the surrounding bent strips acting in tension) gives the structure its stability. An “X” in one axis weaves through an “eye” in the opposing axis. The angles of each “X” determine and stabilize the position of the “eye” that encapsulates it. As the width of the strips decreases, the radius of the “eye” increases. This causes all the strips around it to increase in radius, becoming thinner in overall plan diameter. Therefore, as each section’s strips get thinner, that section of the tower gets taller.

TEAM: Efilena Baseta, Elena Mitrofanova + Mary Katherine Heinrich