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Fibers and Fabrics —
Exciting Prospectives for Architecture and Construction |
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Category No. 2: Micro Architecture Jorge Carbajosa
A self-contained folding structural system with minimum disturbance to the ground and not requiring ground-fixed anchors. The major structural problems of this portable and foldable pavilion have been well solved. The details used for the joints and the movement required for assembly and dismantling are functional and impressive in their design. The requirement of doing without bracing elements to counter the tensile forces of the membrane has been fulfilled very simply by bedding all the steel components that support the corners of the membrane in a grid base that can likewise be folded or dismantled. The membranes are pre-tensioned by means of hydraulic elements at every corner, and the fine-adjustment is regulated by means of adjuster screws. A simple, but mobile model demonstrates the folding and assembly method, illustrated strikingly by means of outline drawings. The jury liked the detailed design development, study models and computer generated details.
Sahara Station A very well presented project with a form ideally suited to protection in sand storms and the extremes of a desert environment. The clearly delineated shape can be altered by means of tensioning elements that can vary the distance between the bases of the central arch. The open form is stabilised by means of similar tensioning elements arranged in a zigzag along the two outside arches.
Michael Rnttiger Backpack Bridge The idea of a small, folding and portable bridge is simple yet ingenious. Conceiving and designing the bridge and then building it and demonstrating that it works is a meritorious performance. The use of a textile membrane as a catwalk in the supporting
framework of cable-tensioned rods makes the membrane a key, indispensable
component of the entire system. It does not require any “stiffening”
elements but is stiffened by the weight of the person crossing
the bridge. The result is a structural system that is distinguished
by a simplicity and lightness that can scarcely be improved on. This light, aluminium and fabric foldable footbridge has ideal applications in marine and trekking situations. It was much admired by the jury. |
All-purpose
Pavilion
Richard
Laeverenz
All in all, a really
intelligent solution to the problem of creating a convertible,
adaptable membrane roof on the small scale of a family-size tent.
A convincing solution, too, in its choice of a mechanical system
that is simple, trouble-free and easy to use. It is, therefore,
a genuine low-tech solution ideally suited for use under the
extreme conditions of the desert and its climate without going
to high technological expense. Using the simplest means, a functionally
and formally high-grade result has been achieved. The form of
the tent was directly deduced from the soft flat shapes of rocks
moulded by wind and sand.