POLYCARB HOUSE °*
TEETER DOCK °*
LENTICULAR COLUMN °*
CLOSED LOOP °*
HYPAR CANOPY °
SHARED BEDS °*
MATERIAL MUSEUM °
SPLIT HOUSE °
DRAPED STONE °*
FLAT STAND °
TIP TAP °
ROCKER °
ARCADE °
TAUT °*
VEER °*
SLING °
ENFOLD °
THREE LEVEL HOUSE °
CHI-OSK °
FIBROUS TECTONICS °
ACTIVE COMPOSITES °
PETRO HOUSE °
BCL *Tensioned Textile Composites
DATE2016
LOCATIONHouston, TX
TYPEMaterial Research
DESIGN LEAD
David Costanza
DESIGN TEAM
Philip Niekamp
Ekin Erar
Samantha Schuermann
OVERVIEWTaut is the culmination of extensive research exploring the potential of tensile surface morphologies to define the geometry of a vacuum-assisted, resin-infused, textile-composite structure. The geometric language of the research emerged from early work by German architect and structural engineer Frei Otto, who developed a method using soap films to derive the shape and structure of tensile membranes. Taut seeks to combine the research on tensile membrane structures with that of composite structures. Its geometry is defined by tensioning a single surface within a scaffolding frame, and it is made rigid by vacuum-assisted resin infusion.
The most challenging aspect of composite manufacturing, as it relates to architecture, is mold production. Large, custom molds are costly to construct and are only viable in an economy of scale. Instead, the tensioned surface would be constructed using a simple frame with cables, replacing the mold in the production of a composite structure. The scaffolding frame supports the edges of the textile surface while it is stretched taut and infused with bio-based epoxy resin.