Abstract:

Tensegrity models are beautifully lightweight structures consisting of seemingly floating struts and cables. Similar to a balloon filled with air, where the atmospheric pressure of the outside is counteracted by the pressurized gas on the inside, tensegrity models display a static equilibrium of forces among the network of compressed struts and the cables under tension.

“Tensegrity describes a closed structural system composed of a set of three or more elongate compression struts within a network of tension tendons, the combined parts mutually supportive in such a way that the struts do not touch one another, but press outwardly against nodal points in the tension network to form a firm, triangulated, prestressed, tension and compression unit.” (Snelson).

Buckminster Fuller describes Tensegrity, a word that he invented by combining the terms “tensional integrity”, as “Islands of compression in an ocean of tension” (Fuller, 1961).

Many books and papers have been written about both theory and historical aspects of Tensegrity, yet little guidance exists for industrial design educators on how to introduce this fascinating subject matter to their students as the foundation for further design centric explorations and as the basis for potential applications in products. As a result, only a handful examples of incorporated Tensegrity structures in industrial design exist to this day. This paper is based on my experience of teaching various hands-on tensegrity workshops and seminars, and presents key elements of Tensegrity to introduce theory, history, and the construction of Tensegrity models of various complexity and scale. It lays out a path to encourage fellow design educators to incorporate the theory and praxis of Tensegrity structures into their industrial design foundation coursework.

Keywords:

Tensegrity, design foundations, education.