2-D diagrams LO4708

DHurst1046@aol.com
Mon, 8 Jan 1996 19:39:14 -0500

Replying to LO4330 --

Hi Julie,

I have been away, hence the delay in my reply to your query about 3-D
structures and tetrahedral models.

The acknowledged master of the tetrahedron was Buckminster Fuller, who
used it as his basic building block. His two volumes of Synergetics
(Macmillan, 1975) are endlessly interesting but tough to handle at a
sitting. There is an excellent survey which is much easier to read "A
Fuller Explanation" by Amy C. Edmondson (Birkhauser, 1987).

You can build so-called tensegrity structures with kits made by several
people. By far the best in my experience are those made by Tensegritoy,
Station Hill Road, Barrytown, NY 12507. (This may be an old address as
it's been a while since I bought anything from them). Their kits are
terrific with robust tension and compression features. You can paint them
in contrastiing colours and build whole families of Platonic and
Archimedean solids, getting totally lost in the wonder of it. Must-read,
mind-blowing books are "Diagram: The Instrument of Thought" by Keith
Albarn and Jenny Miall Smith (Thames and Hudson, 1977) and "Order in
Space" by Keith Critchlow (also Thames and Hudson, but it may be out of
print).

--
Best wishes,
David Hurst,
Speaker, Consultant and Writer on Management,
dhurst1046@aol.com