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Self-Assembly Lab, MIT + Mechanics of Slender Structures Lab, Boston University
Modular and Morphable Rock Jamming is a new method of post-compressing granular jammable structures to achieve horizontally spans that can be tuned and morphed, as well as withstand significant vertical loads. The goal of our research was to use local materials with simple and scalable construction methods to produce rapid and reversible load bearing structures that can be tuned or morphed, as needed. The performance possibilities of this method are demonstrated through full-scale prototypes of architectural typologies, which include: the column-beam, the wall-slab, and the beam-arch. We also demonstrate the tunability of jammed structures, which can increase their load bearing capacity through post-tensioning and then be “switched-off” for instant reversibility. Further, we demonstrate the possibility of morphable jammed structures through the example of a beam that is transformed into an arch through compression, then loaded and traversed.
Self-Assembly Lab, MIT:
Zach Cohen, Nathaniel Elberfeld, Andrew Moorman, Schendy Kernizan, Jared Laucks & Skylar Tibbits
Boston University Team:
Xin Jiang, Arman Guerra, Yi Yang, Kate Flanagan, Casey Ricks, Mo Eydani, Douglas Holmes
This project was generously supported by DARPA, Boston University, MIT’s Department of Architecture and the International Design Center.