Our brief was to work as a team to create a structure that was able to allow a remote control car to drive over it using 12 sheets of cardboard, bamboo sticks and duct tape, so we had to keep this in mind (as well as Geoff's bad driving).
Sketches for initial ideas can be found in my sketchbook.
We began the challenge by measuring and scoring the sheets of cardboard. The aim was to use as many as it took to span the stretch of the space which was around 9 and cut out triangles from each end, which could then be bent and slotted together. Each team member was delegated different tasks throughout the challenge and initially I was there to draw and measure the marks onto the card which would then be cut out using a Stanley knife. Other jobs included figuring out what to do with the bamboo sticks and arrange them in a way that would hold up the structure from the base (they were only allowed to meet the floor in two places), consider decorative techniques, handle all tape application, hold items in place and also figure out what to do with the elastic bands. I feel that the way we managed our team went smoothly and everyone got on whist utilising our strengths which is part of the reason why I feel we did so well on this challenge.
The next step in construction was to slot the pieces together to form the basis of the bridge. We found that it was already very sturdy from the beginning even without the tape and the tabs made an even surface for the car to drive along without getting caught. The edges of the card conveniently folded up to create a suitable barrier to prevent the car coming off the bridge which improved the safety of our structure.
We then taped the whole thing together using several pairs of hands and making sure that at the parts under the most tension in the structure we layered up the most tape. Although the tape looked ugly it did its job and the decoration part would come after we knew that the bridge would do its intended job.
We decided to make the structure more stable by using the elastic bands and their ability to hold tension throughout a structure. I came up with the idea of using the left over triangle pieces as a sort of structure to hold the elastic bands in place and also create a roof to accommodate the height of the car which was greater than that of the sides of the bridge. I cut a slit in the top corner of the triangles whilst someone else tied a few bands together which were then stretched around the bridge to keep the sides from flopping. This worked very well and was proven when Geoff drove his car over and bumped into the edges several times without the car falling.
This step in the process was creating a stand on which the structure could rest in order to increase its strength and durability when put to the test. We created a pillar using the bamboo pieces crossed over into a square based triangle shape and placed underneath the bridge in the middle to support it. This created a sturdy pillar to support the bridge and we tested this by pushing down in various places to ensure its stability. This pillar was then taped to the floor as a final anchor for the bridge to stay in position and hold the car safely.
The decoration of the bridge was placed into Atlanta's hands who came up with the idea of using the spare pieces of cardboard creatively by cutting out triangles from the square in a tessellating pattern. These sheets were then to be placed over the bridge as a roof that the cars could drive under across the horizontal section of the bridge. The third cardboard rectangle was then cut diagonally to make two triangles which were placed at each end of the bridge underneath the structure to add decoration, almost like arches. The effect was aesthetically pleasing and didn't defect the purpose of the structure at all as the hypothetical boat was still able to glide underneath. The cut out triangles that were initially discarded were then scattered underneath the bridge which gave the effect that they had simply fallen out of place.
This exercise aided our conversational and communication skills as it challenged us by working in a team and working towards a goal. I learnt that it is essential for a good team to communicate properly as those groups that didn't do this almost failed to complete the task due to miscommunication between members and disruption of the idea flow. My concept of architecture was changed after this task as I realised how many things have to be considered when designing and constructing something that is going to transport or hold people; peoples whose lives are at stake.
Final images
Video showing the moment of truth
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