Product: Brick
Tetrahedral bricks   (+8, -5)  [vote for, against]
...and other tessalating 3D shapes...

Rectangular bricks are excellent, but tetrahedrons also tessalate in three dimensions and it ought to be possible to build lots of exciting structures out of tetrahedrons.

This technology could be developed to use tessalating, linking, brick shapes based on several tetrahedrons stuck together. This would get around the problem that tetrahedrons don't 'stack' very easily into 'walls' which seems to be what so many people want from their structures now.

I forsee a future of buildings with lots of 60 degree angles in them.
-- hippo, Nov 10 2004

http://www.cit.gu.e.../mchsi_tetra_16.jpg My Aunt demonstrates a tetrahedral structure. [skinflaps, Nov 10 2004]

Mathworld - space filling polyhedron http://mathworld.wo...lingPolyhedron.html
good summary of space filling (ie. 3D tiling) polyhedra [xaviergisz, Nov 10 2004]

Penrose Tile Tiles http://www.halfbake...rose_20Tile_20Tiles
[hippo, Nov 14 2004]

Aunty Jack http://pcug.org.au/...cdona/auntyjac.html
The Aunty Jack Show was one of Australia's earliest and best loved TV comedy series. Starring a motor-cycling tranvestite boxer [benfrost, Nov 16 2004]

The Uni in Islington seems similar to this.
-- skinflaps, Nov 10 2004


That's a picture of your aunt?
-- hippo, Nov 10 2004


Yep, after wrapping each Toblerone Individually.

I did bun this because I'd like to see abit more of this architecture, not much just abit.
-- skinflaps, Nov 10 2004


I'd like an aunt like that!
-- po, Nov 10 2004


Tetrahedra are not space filling. see link for details.
-- xaviergisz, Nov 10 2004


Putting glass in the gaps between the tetrahedrons would look fabulous. I'd love to see a building like that. The interior space would also be an interesting design, assuming the tetrahedron bricks would be left untouched.

PS...[freerunner], do you call her "auntie butch?"
-- Machiavelli, Nov 10 2004


[xaviergisz] That's an excellent link - and I did mean to use a 'space-filling' shape, so maybe one of the shapes on that link would be better for this idea.

[Machiavelli] Still no more information on [freeruner]'s 'aunt'...
-- hippo, Nov 11 2004


+ for the concept and for the fact that this type and quality of idea haven't been seen by me any time recently.

So throw in one of those other polyhedron form [xaviergisz]'s link that hurt my head. + for the link too.
-- swamilad, Nov 11 2004


...another thought: Something which would be nice (but hard for the bricklayer) is sets of polyhedra like Penrose tiles which form space-filling but non-repeating patterns...
-- hippo, Nov 14 2004


more like Aunty Jack - see link
-- benfrost, Nov 16 2004


The Serpinski tetrahedron fractal is an interesting form, but I agree with Unabubba. I dont think it is a viable stacking form. Thats not to say that tetrahedrons dont have an application in building design.
I'm torn, therefore I dont vote (like 60% of America).
-- energy guy, Nov 16 2004


[sp: tessellating, from Lat. tessella, small square.]
-- jutta, Nov 16 2004


Nice idea. An aside: My aunt looks like that. We're Italian (no hope for me).
-- PollyNo9, Oct 05 2005



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