Buttress
26
Nada Alqallaf, Hyojin Kwon, Tianze Tong
This project interrogates how the corner is made by engaging three conditions: resolving surfaces into acute and obtuse angles; pressing the interconnected and closed ends into the form of a triangle; and using torsion and tapering to push the structural limits and potential of dry-stacking brick. Computation became a critical and enabling tool to evaluate these conditions. Sketching, drawing, testing with 3-D diagrams, and the fabrication formwork comprised the majority of the effort, while construction of the prototype itself was relatively straightforward.
Side view of dry-stack prototype.