Paper Bridges & Satellites
It is easy to tear a single sheet of paper – and nearly impossible to rip a whole stack of them. Building on this simple observation, researchers at Georgia Tech, the University of Illinois, and the University of Tokyo created structurally engineered plastic tubes inspired by Origami arts. The physical endurance and structural flexibility of this lightweight material when...
By TH!NK by IBI
Date
April 16, 2016
It is easy to tear a single sheet of paper – and nearly impossible to rip a whole stack of them. Building on this simple observation, researchers at Georgia Tech, the University of Illinois, and the University of Tokyo created structurally engineered plastic tubes inspired by Origami arts. The physical endurance and structural flexibility of this lightweight material when folded and stacked, could have important implications for civil engineering, disaster infrastructure, and urban resilience. In fact, Pritzker-winning architect Shigeru Ban is already employing some of these techniques.
