TRIANGLE RECIPROCAL STRUCTURE

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During the first week, experiments around the triangle and the Leonardo da Vinci bridge were made, with different shapes, sizes, thicknesses, and different assemblies such as notches, nails, joints, etc. The purpose of the first bridge was to create two arches composed of isosceles triangles and to mirror them to make the bridge more stable. In order to build the bridge, we optimized it by having two connected reciprocal structures (making the bridge more stable and blocking the horizontal movement). The bridge deck is created by the space between them. It’s placed on wooden beams that transfer the loads to the structure. Each triangular element rests on the one before and the one after. This disposition generates an arch structure system that transfers loads through interconnected components. A wooden shim is placed to fill the empty space between two triangles. The isosceles triangle elements are made of two four meter beams and a one-meter beam. They are fixed together using a metallic element placed on each corner. There are five triangular components.