Week 23 - Classifying Structural Forms and Functions

NATURAL FRAME STRUCTURES

In a frame structure, the skeleton like structure supports a mass of some sort. A spider web supports the spider and a fly. The fish skeleton supports the flesh of the fish. The veins of the leaf support the flesh of the leaf.

In a shell structure, the hard outside structure supports (and often protects) the weight of an object on the inside. The nutshell supports and protects the nut. The eggshell supports and protects the egg. The honeycomb supports and protects the bee larvae and honey.

Solid structures supports a mass just by its size. Trees are solid structures.

What objects or mass are or will be supported by the three structures that you see in this picture?

What objects or masses are or will be supported and protected by the four structures that you see in this picture?

What object or mass is supported by these structures?

• A tent < >
• a pop can < >
• a concrete barrier in a parking lot < >
• a "jewel box" in which a CD is packed < >

Section: Key for Exercise 1.1 A

Exercise 1.1A Structural Form Examples from the natural environment Examples from the human made environment Shell A. Skeleton of an insect B. An ant colony underground A. Tent B. Containers, like milk cartons Frame A. Animal skeleton B. A flower A. house frame B. bridges Solid A. a snow drift B. A large rock A. Speed bump B. sandbag walls to prevent floods. Read the readings above and in your textbook before answering the following questions. 1. Frame Structures: What objects or mass are or will be supported by the three structures that you see in the pictures shown in the "Man-Made Frame Structures" section above? The house frame supports the drywall, insulation and the roof. The bridge supports passengers and cars. The crane supports pipes or any object that may need to be moved. 2. Shell structures: What objects or masses are or will be supported and protected by the four structures that you see in this picture in the section titled, "Man-Made Shell Structures"? The plane, the bus and the igloo all protect people and the can protects candy or tea. 3. Solid structures: What object or mass is supported by these structures. Large masses of water are supported by these structures. 4. What type of structure (solid, frame, or shell) is each of the objects listed below? A tent A backpacking tent is a frame structure. a pop can A pop can is a shell structure. a concrete barrier in a parking lot A concrete barrier in a parking lot is a solid structure. a "jewel box" in which a CD is packed A jewel box in which a CD is packaged is a shell structure 5. Think about the characteristics of solid, frame, and shell structures and about the importance of a structure's function. With these points in mind, give two example of each from the natural environment and the human made environment. Fill in the chart below. Note: your answers probably will be different, that is OK as long as they meet the requirements of the task

Rube Goldberg Designer? Engineer? No! Cartoonist. He loved to draw cartoons of large complicated machines, which would do simple tasks. Go to this web site to view the artwork gallery.

Form and Function

Before you got going this morning, I hope you sat down and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. In doing so, you probably pulled out a bowl and a spoon. Have you ever wonder how many ways there are to make that bowl and spoon? What are the basic characteristics that all bowls and spoons have?

With anything that we create, we must first ask,what it will be used for? What will its function be? For the bowl, you will want to be able to fill it with a combination of solids and liquids, however you will want the liquid to surround the solids in the bowl and not drain away. The function of the spoon will be to bring the food to your mouth and it should work for both liquids an solids. So when you think of bowls and spoons the forms or designs which come to mind will consists of the same basic principals. The spoon will have a handle to hold onto and curved ladle for picking up food and placing it in your mouth. Because the spoon is intended to go into your mouth is should not be too big or too small.

So the form, the appearance or shape of a structure, that objects takes must following the function they are meant to serve. "Form follows function!" This principal can be applied to most things created on the planet. Even in nature, bird will create nests that serve the function of a shelter and a place to raise young.

It is rare that structures have only one function. Here are some common words used to describe the functions of objects.

• Containing
• Transporting
• Sheltering
• Supporting
• Lifting
• Fastening
• Separating
• Communicating
• Breaking
• Holding
• Aesthetics (how something looks)

"Why, those are a perfectly good pair of running shoes, why do you need to have the more expensive pair?" I bet you have heard this before as you shopped for a new pair of shoes with your parents. This is the difference between basic form and function and aesthetics. Aesthetics is the term we use when discussing the look and beauty of a structure rather that its scientific or practical function. Your parents see a pair of shoes which meet the basic needs of protecting the feet and providing long wearability. You see another pair that also provides the basic functionality of the shoe, but the design fits with the current definitions of beauty and fashionable looks. It does not matter that this shoe costs twice as much - mom and dad are paying for them. This is the cost you are willing to pay to get a pair of shoes with high aesthetic appeal. In plain English that means trendy and stylish.

Parents are often accused by their children of being out of fashion or loosing their eye for aesthetics. In defense of parents, this is usually not the case. Many things around your home, were fashionable at the time they were purchased. Parents have just learned about the reality of money and being the most fashionable parents on the block is an expensive venture if it requires them to replace old structures and tools once they no longer look good. Aesthetics deal with the look of the structure rather than the function. It places more value on a structure if it looks good. Media and advertising deals mainly with the aesthetic appeal of a structure - "eye candy, as it is so called". The aesthetics of a structure appeal to the emotions of a person. Where a basic structure performs a basic "need", boosted aesthetics appeal to the human "want".

Man is the only creature that can actually create large complicated structures to solve a problem. Some of these structures are amazing feats of engineering and others have taught us valuable lessons through their failure.

Browse through a complete library of "Building Big, Wonders of The World" which has links to a large selection of bridges dams, domes, skyscrapers and tunnels.

Why did they do that?

"Even before it was finished 800 years ago, the Leaning Tower of Pisa - a masterpiece of medieval architecture - began to topple, shaken by earthquakes and sinking slowly into the unstable soil. Today, the top hangs just 16 feet over the base and collapse seems imminent. [There has been] follows a decade-long search for a solution to correct the lean and save the unique building. State-of-the-art computer models, ingenious experiments with models and a string of near-disasters eventually push an international committee of prominent engineers and architects into an 11th-hour decision."

Visit the following sites and research on your own to read about the "Leaning Tower of Pisa."

www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pisa/
http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/ltpisa/ltpisa.html