studio journal week 2

WEEK 2 STUDIO JOURNAL

This weeks activity focused on the

two concepts of ‘frame’ and

‘collapse’.

These concepts were explored

through the construction of a

tower built of 40 pieces of balsa

wood.

Aim: To design a stable structure and

build the tower up as high as

possible.


Construction concept: The construction concept displayed by the

photo above is a basic triangular prism structure; the support to

build vertically upwards from. The base consists of three balsa

wood pieces attached together by tape in a triangle formation.

Three double attached pieces of wood are then attached to the

three joints of the triangle, and another triangular base is attached.

Joints are

supported by

tape.

It is visible that the prism

is slightly leaning/bent

towards the right side.

This is due to the uneven

lengths of the pieces of

balsa wood; became a

major structural problem

as the tower was built

higher. The slanting base

frame was unable to

support weight of tower

leading to its collapse.

.


The main body of the

tower:

3 long pieces of balsa

wood (6 pieces attached

together) following the

construction concept

building upwards finishing

with a triangular face at

the top to support frame.

Structure is aslant in

various angles

displaying weak

stability, due to lack of

central support giving

way to spindly frame.

Problems identified:

Frame of the tower is

weak due to lack of joint

attachments in centre.


Added weight.

Buckling point,

frame at its

weakest unable

to support

weight above.

The frame of

the tower is

visibly leaning

at angles.

Not stable

structure.

Deformation and stability


What is a ‘Load-bearing wall’?

Its definition can quite easily be restricted to

exactly what it implies: a wall that bears

a load. However a more detailed

description is necessary to understand

the concept behind this mechanism.

A load-bearing wall is a certain structured

wall that uses a foundation structure to

bear the load resting on it. It is also able

to support its own weight and ‘live loads’

(2005).

Material used can be: concrete, brick and

steel.

The Burj Khalifa (tallest man-

made structure in the world)

uses load-bearing walls (2013).

REFERENCES

Service Central 2005, Service Central , Australia viewed 15 August 2013,

<https://www.servicecentral.com.au/article/how-to-tell-if-an-internal-

wall-is-load-bearing/570/>

Emporis 2013, Emporis, Hamburg viewed 15 August 2013,

<http://www.emporis.com/building/burj-khalifa-dubai-united-arab-

emirates>

studio journal week 2

Documents