Form Finding Lab – Princeton University

BALANCING ACT

30th January – 24th February 2023

AIA NC Center for Architecture and Design

14E Peace Street, Raleigh,NC 27604, USA

An object is in equilibrium when it balances out the external forces acting on it with the internal forces, following Newton’s laws of motion . Even when this equilibrium is disturbed like by pulling and releasing a node in a net, this equilibrium is restored, and the node returns to its initial position. The works exhibited here concern networks comprised of many interconnected flexible, semi-flexible or rigid elements. The way in which the individual elements are connected (i.e, .their topology) and the collective shape they constitute, determine how the global network responds to external loading. This exhibition is structured in three parts. The first part focuses on efficient equilibrium shapes for tensile nets and inverted compressive nets with linear elements. The second part introduces shape-shifting flexible networks that are metastable and inspired by the handcraft of lace. The third part focuses on how domes and vaults, composed of rigid volumetric elements, can be assembled without any external supports. Enjoy the balancing acts!

Sigrid Adriaenssens