For this assignment we were to use sheet aluminum to create a cube.
I began with paper studies to help me better understand the structure and form of the cube.
I quickly discovered the way a tetrahedron could be perfectly inscribed within the cube, acting as a truss system. I was inspired by this interaction of forms and pursued this discovery further.
I was able to split the cube into three symmetrical parts, along the lines where a tetrahedron would sit within it. I played with these three pyramids, folding and attaching them in different configurations to see what other interesting forms I could create.
(bottom right) By attaching the pyramids in a certain way I was able to come full circle, back to the start. I had created the negative space of a cube.
I re-inserted the tetrahedron into the new cube i had formed and drew in the lines to complete the cube. I wanted to pursue this form because I felt it illustrated the structural relationship between the cube and tetrahedron very well.
I mapped out the final piece in paper, and built it using sheet aluminum, aluminum tubes, and copper plated welding rods.
- three pieces of aluminum sheet, each one overlaps the other two
- copper rods are tension fitted into aluminum tubes
- each rod/tube combination is bolted to all three pieces of aluminum sheet (each tube acts as structural support for all three sheets.)
The final piece illustrates the cube being taken apart from its stuctural integrity, the tetrahedron.
