The 1960s stand as a recognized beginning (in Western architecture) of tensegrity structures. Their novel term is a result of combining the words “tensile” and “integrity” to express the structure’s use of both tension and compression elements to create an integrated system (Matheus Pereira, 2018).
Coined by Buckminster Fuller following his research, design, and testing of geodesic domes this radical model of future buildings drew upon the biological base of bones and muscles to achieve efficient material usage and complex systems of motion. The question becomes if this structural system has led to revolutionized implications of space within architecture. Through exploring several precedents, this article hopes to demonstrate the realized futures of spatial design as they have occurred and the futures for tensegrity structures that may hold new spatial implications.
Tensegrity Structures of the Big Tent
Set atop Behnisch and Partners (B+P) sunken stadiums, arenas, and facilities, suspends a mesh re-interpretation of the nearby peaks and valleys of the Alps (ArchDaily, 2011). This stretching and all-encompassing series of tensile roofs comprised of steel cables and acrylic panels produce one of Frei Otto’s most iconic tensile structures; however, with the involvement of large steel pylons elevating the roof above the Olympic stadiums, it can be read as a large-scale tensegrity structure. The ambitious and provocative design, at its completion in 1972, still stands as a remarkable structural achievement that worked to present a new image to post-war Germany—bringing all under its form together—one crowd together at the Olympics.
Similar to the Munich Olympic Stadium, mountains played a key role in the conceptual design of the Denver International Airport’s Passenger Terminal Complex. This project, designed by Fentress Architects, and opened in 1995, calls upon its local site. Its expressive tensegrity structures create a collection of snow-capped mountains mimicking the Rocky Mountains or it can be compared to Native American teepees across the great plains.
The tensegrity structure is comprised of large columns that have steel cables draped in catenary form between them—supporting a Teflon-coated fiberglass fabric roof. This airy structure creates a free-flowing space through the terminal. Its absence of a typical roof system creates an inverted building whose mechanical systems are sunken below ground allowing space to be determined by the needs of circulation and security (Fentress Architects, 1995).
Bridging Gaps
The Kurilpa Bridge in Brisbane, Australia is the first instance of a tensegrity structure used as a bridge. For pedestrians and cyclists, the bridge, a project of ARUP, Cox Rayner, and Baulderstone, uses multiple masts and cables to produce a sculptural form with a rigid structural rhythm. This creates immense strength and resilience while using minimal material.
This bridge is a critical pedestrian bi-way and recreation way with large viewing and relaxation platforms connecting the north and south sides as well as directly engaging with Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art at its spiraling landing. The bridge also serves a circulatory purpose in crossing an expressway and river which cuts through the city (ARUP, n.d.). The Kurilpa Bridge expertly utilizes the tensegrity structure in its strength as both a tool of bridging and formal expression.
Temporary Tensegrity
Another use of tensegrity structures can be seen in the work of Barkow+Leibinger and their Tensegrity Späti Logroño. This temporary pop-up installation for the Concéntrico International Festival of Architecture and Design in Logroño, Spain, utilizes tensegrity in the form of log poles, steel cables, and textile fabric to create a temporary Späti (a vernacular convenience store in Berlin) in which to relax, have a drink, and seek refuge from the sun during the festival. The project is sited in front of the Iglesia de Santiago el Real as both a point of reference and a contrast to the light installation which explores the structural implications of tensegrity structures in architecture rather than a pure sculpture (Frank Barkow and Regine Leibinger, 2023).
In this project, Barkow+Leibinger have leveraged tensegrity structures’ material efficiency to create a pavilion with unique spatial implications of jetting poles and soft sloping enclosure. Additionally, their mode of detail design involved the creation of structural joints for their tensegrity structure which could be fully recycled following the pavilion’s use. Poles and textiles were given to local businesses and institutions and metal components could be employed in future tensegrity structure explorations by the firm (Frank Barkow and Regine Leibinger, 2023).
Tensegrity Structures as a Speculative Spatial Future
As noted, tensegrity structures are a unique sculptural form that has great potential in performing structural duties with high efficiency, yet their use and understanding of spatial implications have yet to be fully realized. This has led to many speculative designs which have failed to be realized. Rather than representing a 50-year history with few results, tensegrity structures should be seen as an untapped future for architecture and society’s use of space. This can be seen in the research and design development that has been underway recently in the architecture world.
Barkow+Leibinger can be recognized once again for their conceptual design of a tower that employs a large-scale tensegrity structure to create evocative forms and spaces as well as highly efficient structures. Barkow+Leibinger explain this conceptual model through the words of Buckminster Fuller himself: “islands of compression in a sea of tension”(Frank Barkow and Regine Leibinger, 2022). This creates multi-level platforms that have the potential to be lightweight, durable, and even adaptable as a result of the structure being pushed to the facade and freeing the floorplan.
Looking beyond tensegrity structures as a purely structural tool and referencing back to their biological bases, Kuan-Ting Lai, constructed the conceptual model of Reconfigurable Tensegrity Systems, which with the use of pneumatic cylinders and polycarbonate panels demonstrate a potential for facade design or even a reconfigurable structural system which allows for even greater architectural potential—considering adaptable design (Matheus Pereira, 2018).
This is to say, tensegrity structures have yet to be fully utilized, and as such, the spatial implications of building with tensegrity are still an untapped architectural frontier.
References:
ARUP (n.d.) Tensegrity-inspired Design for Kurilpa Bridge. Available at: https://www.arup.com/projects/kurilpa-bridge (accessed 22 December 2023).
Behnisch and Partners and Frei Otto (1972) Gallery of AD Classics: Olympiastadion (Munich Olympic Stadium) / Behnisch and Partners & Frei Otto – 4. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/109136/ad-classics-munich-olympic-stadium-frei-otto-gunther-behnisch/5037fff328ba0d599b00082f-ad-classics-munich-olympic-stadium-frei-otto-gunther-behnisch-plan-01 (accessed 22 December 2023).
Fentress Architects (1995) Passenger Terminal Complex at DEN. Available at: https://fentressarchitects.com/project/denver-international-airport/ (accessed 22 December 2023).
Fentress Architects (2012) Now Boarding | Denver Art Museum. Available at: https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/now-boarding (accessed 22 December 2023).
Frank Barkow and Regine Leibinger (2022) Barkow Leibinger. Available at: https://barkowleibinger.com/archive/view/tensegrity_tower (accessed 22 December 2023).
Frank Barkow and Regine Leibinger (2023) Barkow Leibinger. Available at: https://barkowleibinger.com/archive/view/tensegrity_spaeti_logrono (accessed 22 December 2023).
Luke Fiederer (2011) AD Classics: Olympiastadion (Munich Olympic Stadium) / Behnisch and Partners & Frei Otto. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/109136/ad-classics-munich-olympic-stadium-frei-otto-gunther-behnisch (accessed 22 December 2023).
Matheus Pereira (2018) Tensegrity Structures: What They Are and What They Can Be. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/893555/tensegrity-structures-what-they-are-and-what-they-can-be (accessed 22 December 2023).
Pires S (2021) 8 Incredible Structures Around the World That Use Tensegrity to Defy Gravity. Available at: https://mymodernmet.com/tensegrity-architecture/ (accessed 22 December 2023).
RCP (n.d.) Kurilpa Bridge. In: RCP Australia. Available at: https://www.rcp.net.au/projects/kurilpa-bridge-brisbane/ (accessed 22 December 2023).
Reconfigurable Tensegrity Systems (2017). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKpyty5-jeg (accessed 22 December 2023).
