Tensegrity | Consilience
The term tensegrity was coined by Buckminster Fuller. It is a portmanteau of tension and integrity.
"Tensegrity, or tensional integrity, is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members (usually bars or struts) do not touch each other and the pre-stressed-tensioned members (usually cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially.” (Gómez-Jáuregui, V (2010). Tensegrity Structures and their Application to Architecture)
"Tensegrity structures are structures based on the combination of a few simple design patterns:
Loading members only in pure compression or pure tension, meaning the structure will only fail if the cables yield or the rods buckle.
Pre-load or Tensional Pre-stress, which allows cables to be rigid in compression.
Mechanical stability, which allows the members to remain in tension/compression as stress on the structure increases.
Because of these patterns, no structural member experiences a bending moment. This can produce exceptionally rigid structures for their mass and for the cross section of the components."
The qualities above make tensegrity structures a perfect metaphor by which to describe the positive outputs possible when a structure or product is designed holistically. When the purpose and nature of every aspect of a design is considered carefully and the whole designed deliberately, the result is more than the sum of its parts. We refer to this effect as Consilience, another term borrowed from a great thinker — entomologist and author E.O. Wilson. A Wikipedia definition of the term is as follows:
“In science and history, consilience (also convergence of evidence or concordance of evidence) is the principle that evidence from independent, unrelated sources can “converge” on strong conclusions. That is, when multiple sources of evidence are in agreement, the conclusion can be very strong even when none of the individual sources of evidence is significantly so on its own. Most established scientific knowledge is supported by a convergence of evidence: if not, the evidence is comparatively weak, and there will not likely be a strong scientific consensus.”
The quote above describes the strength a conclusion can enjoy when it is supported by multiple independent sources of evidence. Applied to design, the effect is the same. When multiple seemingly independent aspects of a design are balanced holistically, the resulting unity makes the design stronger and less wasteful than a less comprehensively supported “argument.” Because it is a difficult concept to convey and internalize, we borrowed the design of a simple tensegrity sculpture to use as a physical metaphor for this effect.
BUILD IT LIKE BUCKY
If you're on this page, then you’ve received one of our custom-made tensegrity structure kits, so you've already got everything you need to build beautiful structures like the icosahedron (shown above).
Our kit uses six 5/16” diameter dowels of 6” in length. The rubber bands are size 32. To create the notches, we use a 3D-printed tablesaw jig. Each kit is built on demand, prior to an upcoming presentation.
If you do not have a kit, or would like to build one yourself, you will need:
6 wooden dowels with notches on each end
6 rubber bands sized to fit these notches
To use your kit to build a simple icosahedron tensile structure, we recommend following along with the video below. If you’d like to participate in a live exercise built around this activity or to receive a kit by mail, please contact us.
