Bits, bends, skins, boxes and angles

Some animals have stashes of food to get them through winter. Maybe we humans need to think that way too, I don't know. But I need to stash some ideas here while I go about gathering some more. Just boring stuff and random ideas that probably never will amount to anything.

Well, I told you.

First of all I need to remind myself of the new arctic building practice and the paqibiq boxes inside that translucent polycarbonate shell. The idea is a nice base to work from.

I also need to write down a few lines about ETFE as a building material. Just one layer is like a poly tunnel. Two layers makes it possible to inflate the volume inbetween the layers and create dynamic insulation. Three layers gives all sorts of advantages. Not just better insulation, but that too. The middle layer can be moved by the air between the layers. If the layers have printed patterns the moving of the middle layer might change the amount of light that is let through. Moving the middle layer also changes the insulation of the wall.

The layers of ETFE needs to be supported by some kind of structure. One such structure is trusses. The new arctic building practice uses straight trusses to form a tent-shaped outer shell.

Trusses can be built in other shapes too. Bent ones are slightly stronger and might give more volume inside the shell.

One shape is interesting for the trusses and the shell as a whole. The Reuleaux triangle. Constructed from three radiuses.

Imagine the shell built with trusses bent like that. The arches meet at the top with an angle of 120 degrees. The sides reach the ground at 90 degrees.

So. Stashed for later.