TENSILE MODELS

KHas University, Istanbul, 2015 - 2020

These tensile works are outcomes of the elective class ‘Structural Experiments’. The assignments required students to analyse existing buildings and to reveal their structural principles as a starting point. Through many iterations, by deconstructing and reinventing these structures, by replacing materials with tensile members, new systems emerged. Main goal of the studio was to render the working forces visible, and to build a tectonic and aesthetic around the expression of tensile materials. Tensity rendered elastic behavior of materials visible, revealing a limit state between balance and instability. This transparency of forces through the material created excitement and anticipation. 

During the evolution of the models, another input for the process was assigning function. Students were asked to translate these tensegrity works into lighting objects and seating units, attributing to the process a sense of scale and function.