Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler - Human Cantilever
While creating the triangle tambours I also have to consider weight distribution. Many times I have been told that they have a similar resemblance to a bridge, especially Thomas Heatherwick's 'Rolling Bridge'. From this I have researched into the weight distribution of bridges and discovered the example the 'Human Cantilever'.
Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler created the human cantilever in order demonstrate how the cantilever was the most effective means of constructing a long-span bridge.
Baker states that:
"When a load is put on the central girder by a person sitting on it, the men's arms and anchorage ropes come into tension, and then men's bodies from the shoulders downwards and the sticks come into compression."
(Baker, cited in National Library of Scotland, 1887)
This distribution of weight is something that I need to consider in my project if I continue to make pieces that are load baring, as it will have to be able to disperse weight efficiently to stay stable if I include moving parts.
Thomas Heatherwick - Rolling Bridge
Because of the resemblance between my larger triangle tambour and the Rolling Bridge I decided to look further into Heatherwick's inspiration behind his piece.
Heatherwick states that the moving elements were influenced by the tails of animatronic dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. Using this movement he created a bridge that lays flat when extended, then rolls up until its two ends join together to create a circle. This simple structure is fixed to only one bank and becomes a free standing sculptural piece when rolled up leaving nothing behind on the other bank. This piece's movement is powered by hydraulic fluid.
Heathwick's bridge has the same form as my piece. However with the addition of living hinges to mine it can create additional forms, whereas Heatherwick's is fixed to its intended two forms. Because of my additional movement I will need to create a means to locking it into position, like how Heatherwick uses hydraulics. This could be done using clips or a locking mechanism to hold each edge by force. These pieces will have to be sturdy enough to hold the users weight, I plan to experiment on what clips will be supportive enough to do so.
Droog - Do Hit Chair
When thinking of metal chairs that the user has influence on, 'Do Hit Chair' by Droog comes to mind. This chair allows the user to become co-designer when they customise their own seat. They can do this by using the sledgehammer that comes alongside the plain metal box, beating it into any shape you seem comfortable with. This factor of having the user become a co-designer is something that I want to feature in my project, having the user create forms specific to their body through use.
Paul Cocksedge - Poised
A form and aesthetic inspiration of mine for this piece would be 'Poised' by Paul Cocksedge. I am inspired by the form of this piece because its simplistic yet confusing form does exactly whats intended, confusing the user about its equilibrium over one fold. This is something I would like to see in my work, using simple forms to show the dependency of its user overtime.
Max Lamb's Process to Making
Something that inspired me about Max Lamb's work is his process and documentations. As you can see in the images above, he doesn't explain every choice made but documents the key moments in his work, following it with a short paragraph about the inspiration of his work. This keeps his presentation simple but effective as its not clustered with paragraphs of information.
Nendo - Cord Chair
The 'Cord Chair' is an inspiring piece and does something similar to what I want to create in my piece. This chair was made to show off the elegancy of the wood material, while not having the bulkiness that normally comes with wooden furniture to stability. This was achieved by hollowing out the wooden pieces and inserting a metal frame for strength. This allowed the piece to stay thin and just show off the wooden frame, keeping the metal hidden. Each wooden piece was hand carved around the metal frame to keep the smooth and soft look of wood.
As I am trying to make a piece that appears thin and fragile, out of metal, this is inspiring to see.
Bibliography
van der Poll, M. (2022) Do hit chair - shaped, @droog shop. Available at: https://shop.droog.com/product/do-hit-chair/ (Accessed: 19 February 2024).
Cocksedge, P. (2013) Poised, Paul Cocksedge Studio. Available at: https://www.paulcocksedgestudio.com/poised (Accessed: 19 February 2024).
Human cantilever (no date) National Library of Scotland. Available at: https://www.nls.uk/exhibitions/forth-bridge/human-cantilever/ (Accessed: 19 February 2024).
Heatherwick, T. (2017) Heatherwick Studio: Design & Architecture: Rolling bridge, Heatherwick Studio | Design & Architecture. Available at: https://www.heatherwick.com/projects/infrastructure/rolling-bridge/ (Accessed: 19 February 2024).
Lamb, M. (2015) 213 – solder seat. Available at: https://maxlamb.org/213-solder-seat/ (Accessed: 29 February 2024).
Cord-chair (2021) nendo. Available at: https://www.nendo.jp/en/works/cord-chair-2/ (Accessed: 29 April 2024).
