Sail and Truss Project

Wednesday, we had another Architectural Engineering project. The professor showed us different methods of making spans, like with trusses or suspension, and then we divided into pairs and got to work! Our instructions were just to make something that spanned three stairs so that a ball could be rolled through on the middle stair. My partner and I were really interested in sails and suspension, so we sketched out a design and made a mini model of the sail shape.

And then we constructed the full-scale one. I made the sail out of wire and cloth and my partner made the vertical truss out of drinking straws and lots of hot glue.

Our careful planning and sketching in the beginning of the project paid off because our project fit perfectly and the ball rolled right under!