Tension Table (Archive)
Date 2019
Structure Steel Frame, Tension Cables
Materials Steel, Plywood
Rethinking the tectonics of furniture through the lens of transportation and storage. The intended user for this piece of furniture are college students where moving is inevitable. The project focuses on devising a mechanism that allows for easy construction and deconstruction of an overhanging sidetable as a proof of concept for its application in other pieces of furniture.
The mechanism works through tension and compression with 5 basic components; the top (plywood) , the base (plywood), central structure (steel), and tensioning cables. Sandwiched between the divots carved into the top and the base, the central structure resists the gravity loads during use, while the cables resists outward forces, holding all the components together with tension highlighted by the projection of the tabletop. The release of tension in the cables through the turnbuckles deconstructs the table back into its basic components. The table has shown to be stable during use and the mechanism remains durable after multiple cycles of use.
The mechanism works through tension and compression with 5 basic components; the top (plywood) , the base (plywood), central structure (steel), and tensioning cables. Sandwiched between the divots carved into the top and the base, the central structure resists the gravity loads during use, while the cables resists outward forces, holding all the components together with tension highlighted by the projection of the tabletop. The release of tension in the cables through the turnbuckles deconstructs the table back into its basic components. The table has shown to be stable during use and the mechanism remains durable after multiple cycles of use.
