Now, it appears that each man had a much different opinion on the highest and best use of this idea. Fuller’s primary interest in the concept was its application toward engineering — specifically, the spherical and dome-like enclosures (i.e., geodesic structures) for which he became famous. Emmerich, the architect, saw tensegrity’s value residing primarily in its utility as a building construction technique. And Kenneth Snelson, the artist, primarily sees tensegrity’s value in an aesthetic sculptural context.

Irrespective of who actually first developed the concepts and the principles behind the building technique, tensegrity structures are fun to make and interesting to look at.

Toward a Floating Tower

Ever want to make something that is cool simply for its own sake? The English might term such a project as “folly” — an eccentric sort of activity without much practical value, but valuable because of its

interesting and out-of-the-ordinary nature. It’s the sort of unusual, impractical, but enthralling project that makers seek out. If you’re a regular reader of this magazine, you know what I’m talking about. This is one of those projects.

Be aware, the project that follows can lead to a pleasant sort of addiction. Once you master the techniques shown here, you may find yourself building a great number of tensegrity structures. Also, be forewarned that the first time you build one, it will be frustrating. Cords will break, the modules that make up the structure may be uneven and tilted, the towers will lean or list, or worse, come crashing down in a heap. Eventually, the technique will make sense. The materials are somewhat forgiving, and misalignments can often be corrected by gentle massage and your force of concentration.

A Few Background Notes

I first came across the idea of tensegrity in a 1996 edition of The Physics Teacher magazine. The author of that article, a University of Michigan faculty member, described his encounter with Snelson’s Needle Tower at the Hirshhorn Museum as an experience that left him puzzled and intrigued. The author provided directions and sketches to enable the magazine’s readers to replicate on a smaller scale the fragile-looking, semi-rigid column that seems to float on air.

When I tried to make my own column, I was less than successful. I followed the instructions closely, but it was apparent that the technique described in the article required either the manual dexterity of a Flying Karamazov chainsaw juggler or a prehensile tail to act as a third hand. Lacking both, the structure I tried to build invariably collapsed, sometimes slowly, sometimes quite spectacularly, and often just on the brink of success.

But, perseverance is the mother of good luck, and I eventually came up with an easy-to-replicate modeling technique that works quite well, even for people limited to just ten fingers.

Illustration from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office website

Building Tensegrity Structures In Fuller’s 1962 U.S. patent application, tensegrity is described as “a plurality of discontinuous compression columns arranged in groups of three nonconjunctive columns connected by tension elements forming tension triangles.” Huh? No wonder tensegrity sculptures seem hard to make.