26-Sided 16-Vertex Icosahexahedron Space Structure
A Building Framework with 26 sides (Icosahexahedral) and 16 Vertices, known whimsically as a Silmaril. It is derived from the fusion of 2 Icosahedral Frameworks into a single framework with 3 equidistant and parallel internal planes, one plane a perfectly symmetrical 12 sided elliptical equatorial, the other 2 planes being geometrically related 6 sided inversions, resulting in useful practical applications of the Building Framework. Having 20 identical equilateral triangles, 2 sides which are isosceles triangles, another 2 sides different but geometrically related isosceles triangles, and 2 quadrilaterals again geometrically related to the previous triangles. It is geodesic in many planes resulting in great structural strength, integrity and aesthetic appearance. External alignment points allow joining multiple similar frameworks into expanded building frameworks in many dimensions. Some dimensions are of the Fibonacci Ratio. It aligns mystically in 2 dimensions perfectly with the Star Constellation Orion depicting an ancient Universal Sign of Peace.
The project began as an exploration of various existing known space structures for possible use in building construction applications, along the lines of the work that Buckminster Fuller achieved in his explorations of the 3-frequency Geodesic Dome which eventually unexpectedly led to the further discovery of applications in micro and molecular structures, specifically the discovery of the Carbon-60 molecule.
The project examined the feasibility of using the source structure of Fuller's work, the Icosahedron, with various permutations applied to endeavour to discovery new and novel uses of the structure, either through different mathematical transformations, or through fusion into newly synthesized structures.
Research was done into the field of Geodesic Domes including Fuller's work and publications such as Domebook II and Refried Domes. In Refried Domes is revealed many, many technical problems in using multi-frequency (high curvature) dome structures, summarized as:
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- 1) high variety of dimensional sizes and angles requiring much increased labour.
- 2) as in item 1 whereby there is much material waste.
- 3) sound reflection problems due to the internal curved shape.
- 4) moisture problems in the roof due to no adequate ventilation strategy.
- 5) outward facing windows suffering from rain-shipping leakage problems.
- 6) difficulty in interface standard vertical internal walls to multi-angle outer walls.
- 7) difficulty in installing insulation into many diverse gaps.
- 8) all the above causing an inherent specialization in the field regarding Geodesic Structures.
In the world there have been many informal attempts to achieve an intangible unclear goal of using micro geodesic structures in a macro implementation that historically have often failed due to not completely and systematically meeting all of the above objectives.
There are some exceptions where various Geodesic Domes have been successfully implemented at World Fairs and various museums around the World, but albeit almost always at very greatly specialized expense and effort, hence failing several of the above objectives.
The current construction code is based on an orthogonal methodology that does not readily allow a generalization of geodesic structures, keeping them highly specialized because of the inherent problem of dealing with many diverse non-orthogonal angles.
Traditionally, orthogonal approaches to building structures have been dictated by the orthogonal nature of gravity. In taking a different approach to offsetting loads under the force of gravity one has to employ more complex geometric and mathematical formulas to arrive at orthogonal equivalents that are only available through very specialized, and thus uncertain, means.
This also requires more specialized knowledge and resources that may or may not be available. However the key uncertainty had lain in the fact that standard building materials and construction techniques are almost entirely oriented to the building methodologies currently in place. There was uncertainty in whether the Geometric Vectoring techniques needing to be employed would successfully arrive at values that match in efficient enough fractions, the standard dimensioning currently in use in the field of Building Construction.
A second uncertainty was in whether an efficient means of joining materials in non-orthogonal ways would require again, specialized joining mechanisms, defeating the purpose of the objectives, or whether a way of manipulating Geodesic Structures, perhaps through fusion, would lead to an efficient new way of joining elements with the required strength.
The project set out and successfully solved these technical problems, as well as making major new unexpected discoveries. Work resulted in employing the native Icosahedron, un-phased, leaving the large planar surfaces intact. Next analysis led to implementations whereby standard building dimensions, specifically the 4×8 foot standard sheathing/drywall panel, and the standard 16″, or 24″ dimensions were mapped into effective implementations of the Icosahedron's native large triangular panels, to solve problem 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7. Problem 4 was solved by employing a thick enough extrusion of the wall and roof system to allow thick enough insulation and air gap to meet building code for both. Problem 5 was solved by finding a window configuration that would see all windows slanted inward and elegantly configured doorways to be vertical.
Problem 8 was solved in solving problem 1 to 7 resulting in a successful de-specialization, or generalization, of a Geodesic Building Structure.
Further work led to discoveries a) of how to eliminate the roof-overhang leading to many advantages, b) an entirely new geometric shape known as the Icosahexahedron with one variation, c) further repeatability in the design allowing high efficiency, and d) a way of incorporating the structural shape into macro, micro, and molecular applications which is the basis for this invention.
The project set out and successfully solved several diverse technical problems in the Geodesic Structures leading to a successful de-specialization, or generalization, as well as making major new unexpected discoveries. Work resulted in employing the native Icosahedron, un-phased, leaving the large planar surfaces intact. Next analysis led to implementations whereby standard building dimensions, specifically the 4×8 foot standard sheathing/drywall panel, and the standard 16″, or 24″ dimensions were mapped into effective implementations of the Icosahedron's native large triangular panels, to solve problem 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7. Problem 4 was solved by employing a thick enough extrusion of the wall and roof system to allow thick enough insulation and air gap to meet building code for both. Problem 5 was solved by finding a window configuration that would see all windows slanted inward and elegantly configured doorways to be vertical.
Problem 8 was solved in solving problem 1 to 7 resulting in a successful de-specialization, or generalization, of a Geodesic Building Structure.
Further work led to discoveries a) of how to eliminate the roof-overhang leading to many advantages, b) an entirely new geometric shape known as the Icosahexahedron with one variation, c) further repeatability in the design allowing high efficiency, and d) a way of incorporating the structural shape into macro, micro, and molecular applications which is the basis for this invention.
What began as an investigation of a micro structure, the Icosahedron, for use as a macro structure leading to the discovery of a new synthesized structure which is the result of fusion between two Icosahedrons, came full-circle in being applicable to micro and molecular applications, in the pattern of Buckminster Fuller.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention is a Geometric shape which is the result of fusing or merging two Icosahedrons into one, along vertices and panels native to the Icosahedron, retaining all original vertices but introducing new interface planes that are completely native only to the new synthesized structure, an Icosahexahedron.
The new structure has 3 unique internal planes that are of specific use in the employment of the shape as a macro structure, which also explicitly contribute to the definition of the structure.
The original Icosahedron has 20 sides and 12 vertices, whereupon it is split into two 10 sided half-Icosahedrons, and fused together resulting in a shape that has the original 20 sides, but 6 new interface panels which are: 2 of which are the same, another 2 different, and 2 quadrilaterals different again, resulting in a structure that has 16 vertices.
There are several dimensional relationships in the structure that are based on the mathematical ratio PHI, otherwise known as the Fibonacci Sequence, and the Golden Ratio. Of note is that the ratio of the number of vertices of the Icosahexahedron to it's number of panels, 16/26, is a mid increment ratio of PHI (between 13/21 and 21/34 in the sequence).
There is one variation of the shape where the 3 internal planes are not used resulting in a structure which is similar but less symmetrical, employing again the original 20 Icosahedron panels but interfaced by 6 identical triangles, creating a pure Icosahexahedron. In transforming the first form of the Icosahedron into the second, the 2 pairs of different triangles and the 2 quadrilaterals, become identical.
It is the first form of the Icosahexahedron having the 3 internal parallel planes, and external interface planes in 3 dimensions that is useful in macro building applications.
The Icosahexahedron also has a staggering exact alignment with the left side of the Star Constellation Orion, and a Transformational Correspondence to the right side.
In the drawings forming a part of this specification are:
The 26 sided semi-regular polyhedron can be a planar solid, as in
The structure is considered semi-regular for the reason that it is made up of 20 exact equilateral triangles, which are regular, but also a non-regular family of 3 pairs (another six) of isosceles triangles, which are all linked in their characteristics mathematically, to total 26 panels making up the structure.
Further, the structure has a unique resulting paradoxical semi-symmetry, or semi-asymmetry. From various views the structure is very symmetrical, as in
A tangible asymmetry in one plane can serve as a directional means of orientation of the structure. In selecting one direction of the asymmetry as “rightside-up” it allows a tangible method of orienting the structure for identification and reference purposes. From this orientation the standard views of front, back, sides, top and underneath can be applied to the rightside-up orientation. A preferred orientation was selected based on a later developed view of a certain orientation identified as being most relevant to practical uses of the structure, resulting in the rightside-up orientation of
This orientation was arrived at through the subsequent desire to remove the bottom cap of the structure shown in
Views that are employed are: front, back, top, underneath, left and right. They are identified in the drawings with a cube present nearby the structure or other elements identified respectfully: F (front), B (back), L (left), R (right), T (top) and U (underneath).
In wireframe drawings solid lines represent struts that are on the viewer side of the structure, whereas dotted lines represent struts that are on the opposite side of the structure, as viewed transparently.
All 3D views of the structure are with Zero Perspective, i.e. non-isometric, so that the effect of symmetric can be seen in cases where perfect symmetry in any wireframe view is indicated by the absence of any dotted lines, where it can be inferred that other associated drawings that the dotted line is hidden immediately behind the solid line indicating perfect symmetry, as shown in
Derivation of the structure begins in
The same triangle is shown in
Note that the use of the equilateral triangle as a building block was original derived from analysis of the Regular Polyhedron structure known as the Icosahedron, a 20 sided structure. The Icosahexadron comes from the result of fusing two Icosahedrons together according to a certain protocol described further below. From that analysis it is established that the correct angle of rotation between the triangles in
This dual triangle component can be employed empirically facing in and joining only by it's 3 vertices to adjacent identical components to arrive at the Icosahedron structure. Following these rules will result in no other possible structure and will result in accuracy of the overall structure depending on the accuracy of size T and Angle B.
The characteristics of paradoxical-symmetry can be viewed in the Icosahedron as in
The employment of the dual triangle component of
Note that there are other alternate mathematical methods of deriving the Icosahedron but this one is selected for it's simplicity and direct application in using 3D CAD tools to construct the base Icosahedron as a subcomponent to the invented Icosahexahedron.
Further, the invention can be created and modelled through various mathematical methods but in this case is presented in the same method as it was discovered, through manipulation of 3D representations of the level of vertice structure of two adjacent Icosahedrons.
In other words the derivation assumes two perfect Icosahedron base units with zero-width panel thickness that will be connected together perfectly at various vertices shown below.
To begin the process of fusing two Icosahedrons together they need to be roughly oriented as in
Next, the panel families E, F, and G need to be removed from the structures STR1 and STR2 in
The two new structures then need to be aligned so that the plane PLN1 defined by vertices V1-1 to 4 matches the plane PLN2 defined by vertices V2-1 to 4. And also so that the plane PLN3 defined by vertices V1-5 to 7 and plane PLN4 defined by vertices V2-5-7 match each other.
The two structures STR1b and STR2b are then joined together at the two interfaces i1 and i2 by connecting the vertices V1-2 and V2-1 together, as well as the vertices V1-3 and V2-4, all the while maintaining the planes PLN1 and PLN2 equal, as well as the planes PLN3 and PLN4 equal, which results in the new single synthesized partially complete structure STR3 in
In
The connected vertices result in the completed invention, an Icosahexahedron, in
The non-regular panels are interestingly related to each other and displayed viewed laterally from the front for clarity in
In
a) In
In
Of extreme significance are the following relationships also summarized in
All internal angles are listed in
Of structural significance is the orientation of the plane PLN5 in
In an analysis of Plane Top PT first, in
Plane Top PT is derived as in
Plane Bottom PB is made up of the same two Pentagon components in an inverse way, as in
Looking down on the structure STR3 in
A further analysis of relevant parameters of the invented fused structure is in
Similarly the value ZZ in
The length of Plane Top PT is analyzed in
In
The dimension SW, Structure Width, is the width of the rectangle which fully encloses Plane Top PT (or similarly PB) with a large edge of both sides of the long side of the rectangle adjacent to the S dimension of PB for a portion of that length and the short edge of the rectangle adjacent to a length of T of the edge of PT.
The rectangle which fully encloses Plane Bottom PB has the same width as for PT except for the extension YY as seen at the extreme left center of the figure which is mirrored symmetrically on the right side and is calculated in
The triangle in
The length PP in
In
Finally, a major discovery in the invention is that the relationship between the enclosing structure width, SW in
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- T is equal to SW*PHI.
In
This is proven by the derivation of the value HH in
Further calculations for practical applications follow from
The practical dimension TT is the vertical distance of the base component triangle calculated in
The process to derive Angle B begins with derivation of Angle QQ in
Angle B can be rounded to 138.2 degrees as in
Dimension GG in
The total vertical height of the structure TH shown in
A further intriguing discovery in the invention is the relationship in
Further, it is found in
The synthesized 26 sided polyhedron structure thus derived, is known as an
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- ICOSAHEXAHEDRON
from Icosa−20+Hexa 6=26. An alternate nomenclature for 6 is Hexa, resulting in
-
- ICOSASEXAHEDRON
These are acceptable references in general terms, but to be more precise, the structure is symmetrical in 20 panels, then another two more J1 and J2, equal to themselves but not to the other 20 panels, as in
To complete the definition may also be included the 3 internal planes PT, EQ, and PB as in
So a more precise reference for the structure is:
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- 20+2+2+2
which under nomenclature would be known as:
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- ICOSADUODUODUOHEDRON
or under a variation on the reference to two being “Do” rather than “Duo”
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- ICOSADODODOHEDRON
or two being “Di”
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- ICOSADIDIDIHEDRON
Finally, there is a whimsical identification which refers to the significance of a 26 sided structure identified in literature as being defined as: “A fictitious structure”. Also which of note, having 26 sides coincides in a novel way with the number of letters in the alphabet.
A further connection is in an affinity with J. R. R. Tolkien's description of an ancient mythical structure of significance with power of influence due to many factors some of which were in the proportion of it's shape and the manner of it's grand making. For which after being the very root cause of endless war itself found it's final resting place after proving too much a burden for the world, in the night sky as a lost star. To dramatically return only at a time when the world was deemed ready. In light of this it is considered within the bounds of apt novelty to further apply to the invention the name:
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- SILMARIL.
Of lesser note there is an alternate 26 sided polyhedron structure which will be briefly described, which is related to the invention in that it also has 26 sides, is similarly made from the fusion of two Icosahedrons, has 6 extra sides, and is of novelty interest as a parallel invention but is not identified as having the same practical applications in macro building structures to the degree of great utility of the primary invention previously described above.
It is shown in
Following is a description of the synthesis of this second structure whereupon the description will revert back to the primary invention.
This second 26 sided polygon structure has the characteristics of similarly being two fused Icosahedrons, but without the alignment of the 3 internal Planes PT, EQ, and PB in
The structure has symmetry in two planes, and the six extra interface panels which are different again from the base 20 panels, are in this case, identical to each other resulting in the detailed nomenclature
-
- ICOSAHEXAHEDRON (and/or ICOSASEXAHEDRON)
is completely accurate since the 6 extra panels are all identical.
To construct this structure is similar to the ICOSADUODUODUOHEDRON in that two base ICOSAHEDRONS have various panels removed and then joined at various logically convenient vertices.
The difference between the two synthesized structures is in that this one does not align with the internal planes intact, but rather depends completely on the joining at 3 co-planar vertices instead.
Meaning also, that after joining the two together, no extra connection struts are required.
In
Note that an alternate method of making both this structure and the Icosaduoduoduohedron are presented in
This results in the two half-Icosahedrons in
In this method, now one of the half-Icosahedrons has to be rotated 180 degrees as in
From this point it would be possible to align the internal planes PT, EQ, and PB as described and arrive at the synthesis of the Icosaduoduoduohedron.
But to create this alternate structure the two structures STR1 and STR2 are joined differently.
First are some views of the nature of each half-Icosahedron shown in
To align the two half-Icosahedrons to make this alternate structure requires aligning them so that the Axis AX4 for both halfs, is equal, as in
Further wireframe views are in
It is a novel structure that has geodesic strength, is symmetrical in 2 planes (facing front, left to right, and top to bottom, as in
The structure also exhibits the similar trait in the Icosaduoduoduohedron of “hybrid-symmetry”, as in
Continuing on with the primary invention, the Icosaduoduoduohedron, which from this point forth will be referred to again with it's general reference the Icosahexahedron, in
There are 6 substructures shown in
The overlapping interfaces of the interlocking subcomponents contribute to great geodesic strength at the same time due to the diversity of slightly different shapes contribute to an aesthetic effect in the structure.
In
In
This results in the substructure iXUL in
Next, there is a natural vertical surface which is Panel K1 and K2 in
Finally, in the third orthogonal dimension of 3D space, the common vertices of joined Icosahedrons create the Plane MPR in
A variation on interfaces that flips various units around in various planes is explored in
Such orientations and interfaces will have use in micro structures allowing a large base unit, the Icosahexahedron, but with many planar connection points, which will tend to create a novel material with properties of strength.
At a molecular level the synthesis of two Icosahedrons into one fused one will create a new synthesized material that similarly will have benefit of low mass due to large molecules but many connection points in 3 dimensions.
The native substructures that result from the synthesis of the Icosahexahedron are listed in
Note that the 6 identified substructures described above, 5 are completely unique to the invention, i.e. the Icosahexahedron. This means that do they do not knowingly exist in any other currently existing polyhedron structures. They result inherently because of the planar and connection characteristics in joining two Icosahedrons together along PT and PB at the vertices described. As such they are unique substructures of the invention.
However, the Pentacap substructure is inherent to the Icosahedron polyhedron and as such is not unique to the invention and is well known as a pentagonal structure.
The Icosahexadron has a natural equatorial, EQ, as in
Each level makes for a convenient and useful application as a floor or ceiling in various further configurations of the invention.
Hence follows a further analysis of PT, EQ, and PB in
In a practical application as a building structure, in a preferred configuration (rightside-up) PT serves as a very convenient and useful roof-line, as described further below.
The Plane Bottom PB in
Again in a practical application, PB serves as a very convenient and useful ground floor-line as described further below.
The Equatorial EQ in
Again EQ serves as a very convenient and useful floor or ceiling line as described further below.
Note that intriguingly, because PT, EQ, and PB all have the same width, this means that the panels K in
This is directly useful in building construction applications because a) it allows a natural door placement allowing a vertical door and not the slight slope out or in that occurs in the native Equilateral panels and b) it allows applications where one or more Icosahexahedrons can be joined along this vertical interface side by side as described below, and c) ergonomically it allows for some standard wall orientations in a structure that otherwise may be too overwhelming in it's non-orthodoxy.
Various combinations of slicing and removing substructures from the Icosahexahedron result in various novel configurations, some of which are well suited to building construction applications.
The first variation, considered the least desirable, is in by turning the Icosahexahedron upside-down (bottom-up), slicing it at PT and removing the HEXADUOCAP in
This preferred configuration also allows for other features like upward pointing K Panels which better allows a doorway or window structure whereas the upside-down triangle in the inverted structure would make passage through impossible.
The preferred configuration slices the rightside-up structure along Plane Bottom PB and removes the TETRADUOCAP in
In this configuration, by sizing T to a practical size that would allow the structure in
However, the same structure can be sliced at the Equatorial EQ to arrive at the convenient one story resulting structure ideal as a bungalow, cottage, garage, or shop, as in
For comparison purposes the upside-down version is shown in
Developing the preferred configuration further in
Further views of this preferred configuration shows PT, EQ, and PB, the window configuration, floor and ceiling configurations in
Note that inherent in using the Icosahexahedron in such applications lend well to Post-and-Beam construction techniques that would allow using geometrical mathematical techniques applied to the strut configuration to be directly applicable, as opposed to a Frame type approach.
This allows further applications of open type structures like Pavilions or Salt Domes where only the roof needs to be covered.
In
This sideways connection is allowable in either a two or one story configuration where either PB or EQ are the floorline as in the figures.
In
With proper sizing and joining methodologies, this configuration can be utilized to create a stacked Highrise building that uses standard, repeatable strut components that would result in a very novel oscillating floor type effect where the window effects would allow for a repeating diamond effect, as in
This structure has inherent geodesic strength due to the oscillating fold-effect between adjacent floors that allows efficient use of materials and construction labour.
To focus back to aspects of the base invention, to develop the Post-and-Beam approach, there is a natural support-strut configuration allowed by the fact the majority of panels making up the structure, can be dissected at their mid-points and have support struts connected there, adding strength and also allowing weaker materials to be used since the T struts have support at all their midpoints, as in panel QP1, 2, & 3 in
The elements TP1, 2, & 3 are known as “Tri-panels”, being triangular building panels. The elements QP1, 2 & 3 are known as “Quadpanels” since they are made up of 4 joined Tri-panels.
Hence a method of building up Quad-panels from Tri-panels allows repeatability, strength, and efficiency in building construction, shown in
A further development is a more relevant orthogonal arrangement as in
This configuration has the beneficial side-effect of allowing a larger, rectangular entrance way through the K Panel in
A further development upon analysis shows that a logical mixture of both panel types is beneficial since the roof and wall panels do not require openings, hence could make use of the advantages of the QP1, 2, & 3 configuration, and then the lower floor window and doorway panels could make use of the QP1b, 2b, and 3b configuration, as illustrated in
In employing the above method various substructure components arise which are summarized in
The structures
In
Thus the Post-and-Beam strategy is set now the internal stud-works to it has to be established as in
This means a way of fitting standard 16″ or 24″ studs-on-center in between the strut works developed in the QP and QPb types described above.
In doing so 5 different configurations were arrived at that allow for convenient and useful sizing of struts, as shown in
Next the strategy for connecting struts in the QP configuration are shown in
These panels are then built-up at the construction site into Quad-panels as in
A Virtual Dimension Point is defined as: any point on the inside of the structural shape of the Icosahexahedron allowing for a reference that is independent of beam or stud thickness. In other words all dimensioning and measurements are relative to all the vertices in the invention as previously defined in a zero-thickness structure, that attains thickness in walls, roof, etc, by extruding beam and stud thickness OUT from the VDP's, which are simply the vertice co-ordinates as identified by the Icosahexahedron shape definition.
In this way co-ordinates of the outer dimensions of building components do not have to be mapped but are kept track off at the subcomponent level.
Hence the structure is defined independent of wall and roof thickness. A structure with a roof and wall of thickness 12″ has all the exact same Virtual Dimension Points as a same sized structure with a 18″ thick roof and wall.
This is demonstrated in
This results in a triangular valley between each plane extruding outward, as in View 1, all of which are identical in size and triangular shape at the interfaces between the Equilateral Triangles as in View2, but where various different panels interface as in View1, 3, & 4, the valley width (not depth) is different, usually smaller as at the interface between an 0 Panel and a J Panel, although at the very top of the structure as in View4 central where two J Panels meet the valley is bigger.
The nature of this valley is utilized, uniquely, by synthesizing it implicitly into a substructure known as a “Virtual-Beam”, or V-Beam, which is essentially a hollow triangular beam.
With some additional support this structure becomes what is known in the Building Construction field as probably THE strongest building element possible.
This is born out by the fact that ALL large-capacity construction cranes of the kind that can be seen constructing Highrise Buildings, where huge weights have to be maneuvered about at large fulcrum swing, utilize exactly this structure of a hollow triangular beam.
In this invention, the effect of the triangular valleys forming at the panel interface points, by extruding them out the thickness of the wall and roof, is completely usefully and elegantly utilized by simply reinforcing the outward gap of the valley so that a triangular beam by definition results, as in
In
Bolt (or screw) patterns for either approach are shown in
This has the elegant side-effect of effectively emplacing strong hollow triangular beams from each major vertex in the Icosahexadron structure, implementing a very effectively strong Post-and-Beam strategy that also has the extra benefit of being completely geodesic adding even more strength.
Added to these two effects is a powerful third: the Shell Effect. It results from the fact there are essentially two shapes one inside the other connected by each inner Virtual Dimension Point to the corresponding out point at the thickness of the beams or studs, making a shell of that thickness that has great strength of integrity.
Which when added to the geodesic nature and triangular beam employment makes the Icosahexahedron building construction structure strong enough to be free-standing without internal load-bearing walls or beam span structures, although there is nothing to prevent an application that would use these structures anyway for various purposes like being a basis for walls or other useful structures in a dwelling.
But this free-standing capability allows the structure to be used judiciously as an open-concept structure, where one application is to buildup an internal room system entirely out of a very flexible free-standing mezzanine structure which rests entirely on the first floor (or even feasibly the basement floor), which itself can be designed out of completely unrelated thematic modes like steel tube beam or any other architecturally sound method that would contract very aesthetically with the non-orthodoxy of the Icosahexahedron structure.
Also, in free-standing warehouse applications where large objects need to be stored, or for example like in salt or other chemical storage domes.
In
A roof ventilation strategy that allows air to flow from the edges of the walls up into the roof and out the top allows for the elimination of the necessary for eaves-troughs at the wall-roof boundary.
This also eliminates the need for down-spouts since the equivalent to an eaves-trough can be run along the edge of each triangular wall panel to be exhausted at ground level by default.
The elimination of the roof-overhang and eaves-trough, geodesic structure, triangulated beam system, and shell effect, also all contribute to the structure being effectively a wind-resilient structure having applications in hurricane-prone locations where the preferred doorway/window configuration provides a natural pre-prepared plywood placement strategy for quickly and easily preparing a structure for severe oncoming weather, and is probably very effective without any such added measures in that the structure itself is aerodynamic.
Wind-flow is very forgiving of shapes that flare away, but destruction to flat surfaces, as used in most conventional building structures.
The most aerodynamic shape is the head of a whale, or a sphere, because it flares away, even though a fair portion of the front surface can be reasonable considered to be fairly flat to the wind.
The Icosahexahedron is similar where from any view angle, all walls flare away back from the viewer in an aerodynamic way, allowing high wind to flow around the house easily rather than getting caught up in destructive vortices underneath eaves-troughs, roof overhangs, and flat surfaces with square flaring back effects which itself causes vortices. And in most cases, the very way that conventional roves are fastened to wall structures is often not taken very seriously as builders consider the immense weight of a trussed roof structure, the mistake in not realizing that once the wind gets underneath the leading overhang of a roof that is not fastened with extreme integrity, it becomes a perfect wing, with the expected resultant outcome of flying away suddenly.
Further, in a frame construction building, the building strategy at play is that it is the placement of the plywood sheathing that gives triangulated strength to what is actually a very week frame structure.
In any frame structure that does not have the sheathing applied, it can very easily be knocked over just by leaning against it, even one that has all it's own primary fasteners in place. This is why they have to be very securely braced until the sheathing is applied.
But the problem is, during extreme weather one of the two things that happens is first, there I a sudden drop in barometric pressure as the weather system arrives, second, high-wind. Both have the effect of applying hostile forces directly to the sheathing, whereupon all it takes is for the first few sheets be torn away, and the forces inside the house then contribute in a chain reaction to tear the rest of them away. The more this happens, the more that skew forces in the now weakened frame, actually contribute to pushing off the remaining sheathing mechanistically.
At this point it is very easy for wind forces to get underneath the overhang of the roof and carry it away the wing-shape actually contributing to lift in the structure.
None of this is at issue in the Icosahexahedron design, in that it is Post-and-Beam: it has great strength of integrity with NO sheathing in place; there is no roof overhang, the connection between the roof and the wall is of high integrity and is the same technique as every where else in the structure; the lack of eaves-troughing eliminates destructive vortex formation, and the overall shape is very aerodynamic from any angle of oncoming wind.
In employing the structure as a macro structure, eliminating the eaves-trough/roof-overhang has certain advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are: a) no eaves-troughs to clean out, b) no down-spouts required, c) better aerodynamics at the roof-line contributing to wind-resilience, and d) improved aesthetic appearance when taken in conjunction with other necessary design factors. But the following problems are introduced a) the interface between the roof and wall becomes non-standard, b) without an overhang there is no convenient shelter for walkways, c) the roof must be extended directly to the ground which makes traditional attic ventilation through the underneath of the roof overhang impossible.
Building structures according to municipal building-code requirements must have adequate ventilation in the roof. To accomplish this and address the other factors several design elements were employed: a) making the roof thick enough to have adequate code insulation and air gap, b) making the roof continuous with the walls, c) employ ventilation openings at the interface between the roof and wall, resulting in a wall the same thickness as the roof, but not requiring the same depth of insulation, resulting d) in the advantage of repeatability in design and manufacture of wall panels because they are identical to roof panels, e) the roof is ventilated through air openings in the downward angle struts of the walls as in
Hence airflow is up through the bottom triangular panels edges through air openings, through the wall up into the roof and out traditional roof vents at the top of the roof.
The advantages of all this are a) cathedral ceiling inherent in the design allowing use of attic space, b) rain-troughs run at an angle downward and meet at View3 where a simple drain removes rain, resulting in self-cleaning rain-troughs, c) the rain-troughs double as down-spouts. d) since there are two troughs per wall, they can be smaller and less visible, e) the overall structure becomes very aerodynamic and hence wind-resilient, f) since the interface between roof and wall is continuous, last, and not least, the problem of ice-damming is completely eliminated in this design, a major achievement in macro building structure design.
Moving on to one final extraordinary feature of the extremely versatile Icosahexahedron is evident in viewing it from the bottom, i.e. upside-down, i.e. in viewing the TETRADUOCAP in
In looking down upon the TETRADUOCAP hourglass, the angle between the native Equilateral triangles is 72 degrees, i.e. 360/5, as derived in
This is also empirically known to be the exact same angle in one side of the hourglass shape in the Star Constellation Orion, specifically the left side, where upon observation the two shapes are strikingly similar, as in
But when the two are overlayed graphically, the novelty of the alignment of this angle between the two structures is astoundingly perfectly identical, as in
Further, in the novel views of points iX4 to iX8 the following is observed: a) the quadrilateral defined by the points iX4, iX5, iX6, and iX7, as viewed off-angle, under transformation is the same as the L Panel of
A further study of the interface at iX1 as in
Claims
1. A Building Framework which is modular with 26 sides (Icosahexahedral) and 16 vertices which is a synthesis of two Icosahedral frameworks fused together retaining native vertices but also introducing new planes, with 3 internal planes which are parallel and equidistant, 2 which are 6-sided, the other 12-sided, where 20 sides are identical equilateral triangles, 2 sides are isosceles triangles, 2 sides are isosceles triangles with base equal to twice the base of the previous 2 triangles, and 2 sides are quadrilaterals allowing a perfect inclusion of 3 of the first 2 triangles alternatingly.
2. The Double-Layer Shell Building Framework resulting from extruding outward of the sides of the Building Framework of claim 1 giving thickness to the sides of the Building Framework by introducing struts of the length of the depth of the desired thickness perpendicular to the side planes of the Building Framework of claim 1, connected at the side vertices extruded out and subsequently connecting the resulting new strut ends to each closest new adjacent strut end resulting in essentially two Building Frameworks of claim 1 of different dimensions one inside the other connected by interconnecting struts as defined by the inner Building and introducing gaps between sides in the outer layer shell which are defined in width by the depth of the shell.
3. A Building Floor/Ceiling defined by either of the lower, upper, or central internal planes made up of either the central equatorial plane perfectly dissecting the Building Framework of claim 1 about its natural vertex connections resulting in a 12 sided, elliptical floor/ceiling, or by either of the two different upper or lower planes defined by natural vertex connections of the Building Framework of claim 1 which are equidistant to the central equatorial plane in opposite directions, both of which are different but are both 6 sided in inverse relation, and transform geometrically into each other through relationship with the equatorial plane of the Building Framework of claim 1.
4. The 12 Sided, 6 End-Point Sided Tubular Sub-Building Framework created by removing the top and bottom caps from the Building Framework of claim 1 which is a 6-sided ellipse at both ends but contains an alternating symmetrical transformational-correspondence from one end of the tube to the other, allowing adjacent tube frameworks to be connected along common interface points or edges by alternating each subsequent unit, extending the Tubular Framework into an indefinitely extendable articulated pipe with an alternating hexagonal cross-section, or extended vertically in a similar Building Framework to implement a building tower or stack.
5. The Triangular (3-Sided) Tubular Longitudinal Sub-Building Framework of the Double-Layer Shell Framework of claim 2 which are hollow or semi-hollow triangular beams resulting from the integration of struts connecting the inner and outer Building Frameworks of claim 2 and all their inner and outer side edges.
6. The Small Triangular Sub-Building Panel Units, which are sized to allow conventional orthogonal sized building materials to be placed within standard orthogonal stud dimensions but within the constraints of triangle shaped panels, 4 of which comprise larger Triangular Sub-building Panel Units and retain the orthogonal-to-triangular material mapping feature by extension, 4 of which joined correspond directly to the sides of the Building Framework of claim 1, are joined at the 3 corners without any special joining mechanism but rather by cutting one adjacent strut end at each corner in a 60 degree angle and connecting two struts at the corner together with a simple bolt or screw pattern that utilizes the 60 degree angle in making the joint.
7. The Large Triangular Building Panel Units which correspond directly to the sides of the Building Framework of claim 1, which are made up of 4 of the Small Triangular Sub-Building Panel Units of claim 6 joined together flush and parallel with a simple bolt or screw pattern, which are then joined at their inner edges to implement the Double-Layer Shell Building Framework of claim 2, by placing standard bolt or screw fasteners at the inner joint then an accompanying strut-work or blocking at the outer gap, the integration of which creates the Triangular Tubular Longitudinal Sub-Building Framework of claim 5.
8. The Process of Constructing the Small Triangular Sub-Building Panel Units of claim 6 without any special fasteners by using a standard bolt or screw method with the panel end points cut at a 60 degree angle to facilitate joining the end points together.
9. The Process of Constructing the Large Triangular Sub-Building Units of claim 7 where the Small Triangular Sub-building Panel Units of claim 6 are joined together through a simple bolt or screw and plate pattern with the small units flush and adjacent together creating integrated beam structures internal to the Large Triangular Sub-Building Unit of claim 7.
10. The Process of Constructing the Double-Layer Shell Building Framework of claim 2 where the Large Triangular Sub-Building Panel Units of claim 7 are joined first along one edge through a hinge method, where two adjacent panels are hinged at their inner edges together to facilitate rough placement of the two panels into their position in the Building Framework of claim 2 as defined by the inner edges of the panels, where all subsequent Large Triangular Panels are hinged on one edge onto the placed units in the framework one edge at a time, in sequence, until the entire Building Framework is connected all along all inner edges by hinges allowing flexible adjustments to panel placements until all panels are finally properly placed comprising the Shell Building Framework of claim 2, whereupon final bolt or screw placements are done at the inner panel interfaces, then further strut-work or blocking is done at the outer interfaces with further bolt or screw placements to make the final unit connections, whereupon the hinges are then removed resulting in the Double-Layer Shell Framework of claim 6 which is 2 Building Frameworks of claim 1 one contained within the other but without final permanent bracing in the outer interfaces and a dimension gap between sides in the outer-layer Building Framework of claim 1.
11. The Process of Construction where the gaps between adjacent joined panels of the sides of the Shell Building Framework of claim 2 making up the Triangular Tubular Longitudinal hollow or semi-hollow beams of claim 5 created by the depth between the inner and outer layers in the Shell Building Framework of claim 2, are filled with triangular supports (blocking) which fit the insertion angle of the triangular gap such that the base side of the isosceles triangular support faces in the direction of the outward extrusion making a semi-hollow beam, or instead, a single longitudinal brace is used to enclose the open end of the triangular hollow beam at the gap, into an enclosed triangular completely hollow beam which encloses the outer layer gaps between sides of the outer-layer of the Shell Building Framework of claim 2, making it a complete implementation of 2 Building Frameworks of claim 1 contained within the other with the outer one expanded at the layer surface sides by the enclosed gap.
12. The set of Concave Sub-Building Frameworks (trusses) with a minimum of 3 sides which result from dissecting the Shell Building Framework of claim 2 across all possible adjacent edges, but excluding the Concave Building Sub-Framework of the set which is a 5 Sided Icosacap which is native to the Prior Art Icosahedron.
13. The Building Framework resulting from removing the inner Building Framework of the Shell Building Framework of claim 2 resulting in only the single outer layer framework retaining the extra connecting struts where their placement was defined by the original placement of the vertices of the inner Building Framework.
14. The Building Framework of claim 1 where strut sizes may deviate freely from the constraints of claim 1 but still retain the same number of vertices in each side: 3 for any triangular side and 4 for any quadrilateral side, resulting in a freely non-symmetrical 26 Sided 16 Vertex Building Framework.
15. The 26 Sided 15 Vertex Building Framework resulting from a transformation of the Building Framework of claim 1 where the first 2 isosceles triangles are increased in size of the their base, then the second 2 isosceles triangles are decreased in size of their base, so that the first and second sets now are equal in base size, subsequently making the 2 quadrilaterals transform into the same equal triangles as they, as well such that the 20 identical equilateral triangles retain configuration as two fused Icosahedrons joined at interface points by the 6 newly transformed triangles, but no longer with the 3 internal parallel planes, whereby the two vertices previously connected by two edges of the connected quadrilaterals merge into one vertex, thereby reducing the vertex count of this Building Framework in still retaining the original 26 sides, but now has one less vertex to total 15 vertices.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 15, 2006
Publication Date: Nov 8, 2007
Inventor: William Whittingham (Ottawa)
Application Number: 11/611,844
International Classification: E04B 7/08 (20060101);