Thanks to the internet, I was able to follow this video (stopping and starting and rewinding probably ten times to do it!) and successfully built this mobile on the second go.
The tensegrity icosahedron was "invented" by Buckminster Fuller, based on 20 triangles. The definition of tensegrity, as per Mr. Fuller, is "islands of compression inside an ocean of tension." ICOS comes from the Greek for 20. HEDRON means seat or base. The icosahedron has 20 triangles, 30 bases and 12 vertices, each with 5 triangular faces meeting. In the model below, there are 6 wooden struts and 24 string interfaces for the total of 30 bases.
This basic idea, here in Montreal, is most famously seen at the Biosphere, a geodesic polyhedron, designed by the architect Buckminster Fuller, at the 1967 Olympic site; formerly the US Pavillon. It seems he had been awarded a US patent, but the idea was actually invented years prior by an East German engineer named Walther Bauersfeld, who created the first geodesic dome, based on the icosahedron structure, and the genesis of the modern planetarium.
The tensegrity icosahedron was "invented" by Buckminster Fuller, based on 20 triangles. The definition of tensegrity, as per Mr. Fuller, is "islands of compression inside an ocean of tension." ICOS comes from the Greek for 20. HEDRON means seat or base. The icosahedron has 20 triangles, 30 bases and 12 vertices, each with 5 triangular faces meeting. In the model below, there are 6 wooden struts and 24 string interfaces for the total of 30 bases.
This basic idea, here in Montreal, is most famously seen at the Biosphere, a geodesic polyhedron, designed by the architect Buckminster Fuller, at the 1967 Olympic site; formerly the US Pavillon. It seems he had been awarded a US patent, but the idea was actually invented years prior by an East German engineer named Walther Bauersfeld, who created the first geodesic dome, based on the icosahedron structure, and the genesis of the modern planetarium.
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| BIRTHDAY TENSEGRITY ICOSAHEDRON |
Good to see the three dimensional version of the TI.
ReplyDeleteI didn't count the bases and vertices as you did.
Thanks for keeping at it, I wanted Rebecca to have something to remember me by. I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to do a thirty stick version. Inspired by your success I’ll have to try again.