The Tenammock is a tensegrity hammock palced outside of the library that doubles as a sculpture when not in use. Fabric, nylon, or polyester will be strung between the structural members to make a comfortable, spacious, and beautiful seating space.

When in the library at the school in the mornings, it quickly becomes obvious that there is a lack of seating. When presented with the opportunity to create an addition to the schools campus. The problem that seemed most prevalent was the lack of seating around the library. Following the tensile structure theme of our studio, our team proposed the idea of putting hammocks around the library to add a comfortable and convenient seating area to the library.

The design underwent drastic changes over the course of the studio. Our first sketches and prototypes were of simple hammocks strung between two pillars. After much discussion with studio coaches and each other, my partner and I came to the conclusion that a single person hammock would not be a very good solution to the problem that we were trying to address. We then added a third pole to the design, changing the shape of the hammock into a triangle to made the hammock a double-decker. This provided the top hammock with sunlight and warmth, while the bottom hammock receives shade. This also effectively tripled the seating capacity. We then talked our idea over with Nuvu Coach, Luis, via video chat. Luis introduced us to the idea of tensegrity. After some deeper research into tensegrity, my partner and I excitedly incorporated this into the project.

Our first step with the new model was to create one. We did this with wooden dowel rods and rubber bands, stringing together three dowel rods with three bands. This gave us an eight-sided object, that when put under stress would compress and resist movement. We then created a second model, but instead of using cylindrical dowel rods we used rectangular ones. This allowed us to compare and contrast the behavior of the models depending on the dowel shape and pressure exerted on the model. Then we began to run fabrics over the surfaces of the model and were able to create a vast array of hammock shapes. We then tested different materials for the seating area, these included woven string, duct tape, masking tape, and paper. Our final model is ¼ scale and made of PVC pipe and steel wire, this increased the stability and durability of our model, however, this came at the cost of its flexibility.

My partner and I hope that, when completed, the Tenammock will be a comfortable and convenient seating option for people around the library.