Polyhedra and Scales

Today our group moved forward to explore our fascination with Polyhedra and Scales - shapes that can cover curved surfaces efficiently.  Here is Jason playing with a variety of forms.

We are mostly interested in the flexibility of these shapes.  How can we fold them, twist them, or turn them inside out?  How can these motions expose something or expose part of the shape itself?  Take the Pentagonal Hexecontahedron, for example.  Here is the net of the form, laser-cut and partially-assembled.

And here is a drawing of what I could imagine exposing.  Consider the thickness of the material, layer it up, apply a bevel so it can fold into its complete form.  Then, turn it inside-out, exposing the seams.

We also continued to explore the application of segments of these polyhedra.  Here, Chris shows how a group of five pentagons can articulate.

Unfortunately, the inspiration and excitement from finding forms that satisfy our criteria is starting to wear off, as we desperately search for a world-changing application.  This methodology seems backwards to me.  We've found something fascinating that seems to have great potential, and now we are searching for a problem that it, or some derivation of it, can solve.