Geometric Constraints

In class, we were given 30 toothpicks and a handful of Dots candy and assigned to make the largest and strongest model shelter.  Below is what my group came up with.

In this design, we used many triangles because we know they are very strong.  As a result, there were 60 and 30 degree angles. The surface area, not including the base, is about 23 square inches.  If each inch were equal to ten feet, the structure would need about 2300 square feet of wood to make walls.  The area of the base was about 16.24 square inches.  The floor would be about 1624 square feet, so the structure would be able to hold about 45 people.  We designed our model to support a lot of weight above, but not so much around the sides.  As you can see, it supported a textbook.  In this assignment, we followed form follows function because the shape is not necessarily like that for aesthetic purposes, it is to be a strong shelter.  We designed it with the purpose, to be strong, in mind.