Building a Bridge

The class was put into six different groups and instructed to create a bridge that would span the

length of the room (separated with two tables.) The bridge also had to be tall enough to push a table in the centre. There could only be two points on the floor where any of the materials could touch the ground (the support legs for the bridge.) We had 2 and half hours to do this until the bridge would be tested with a remote control car - if the bridge could let the car travel from one side of the bridge to the other without any accidents this would prove the bridge a success.

 

We were given the materials to create the bridge from and this was all we were allowed: 10 sheets of A1 card, 30 bamboo sticks and 2 rolls of duct tape. In my group there were 6 people and before we started creating we came together to decide what we were going to make and where we would be starting. We looked to our paper bridge exercise for some inspiration however had difficulty to find any starting point. We then decided to look at the materials and see what we could make from what we were given. The bamboo sticks would have been an 'obvious' element to use as the bridge's legs so instead we decided to come up with alternative ideas for how the bamboo could be used - as well as giving the bridge a unique character visually. We thought that the road of the bridge could use the bamboo by crossing the sticks over each other to make a structure that would be both strong and visually interesting however we realised that this would be difficult for the car wheel's to travel across and we would need to cover the design up any way.  We then thought about wrapping the bamboo together to make a track (with two of these bunches) - however another challenge we found was that the bamboo wasn't very flexible when it was taped together so it would be nearly impossible to arch the bamboo to create a bridge high enough to fit the table. Instead we decided to use the bamboo as the first slope for the bridge and then to use the card as the legs and main road. We created the bamboo slope first. After creating the 'track' we needed to decide how to support the bridge - the legs.

When we were planning the legs we wanted the card to serve as this support. We decided the strongest shape would be a cube. From our previous exercises of supporting weight we understood that the best way to support weight was to have a strong base. Therefore we planned the cubes, we later decided to add a twist by turning the cubes in different angles to create a stacked look - I really liked this part of our bridge since it was a bit different than simply piling the cubes straight. Furthermore it meant weight could be spread out more. To keep the boxes together we cut slits so that we could fix them strongly together. We used 5 boxes on each side. We didn't face many challenges when creating this part of the bridge and  felt we worked especially well as a team during this part of the task as we were each given jobs - measuring, cutting and assembling the boxes together. We were able to create the legs quite quickly. The only real problem we faced thinking of a way to keep the boxes together however I suggest we add slits so they are bonded together. We later had to add more cubes (it was originally 8 boxes but we added another 2) for more height.  

 After assembling all of the cubes and creating the legs we laid out the pieces that we had created to see where our next move would have to be. Above you can see that we laid down the bamboo into two sections to create a 'track' that the car wheels could sit either side. We leant this onto our boxes and they were able to balance but we knew that we had to attach these pieces together so it would fall apart when weight was put onto it. One of our tutors suggested that we cut into the top of the cube leg so it would stay in place. However we had trouble with the angles when trying to do this because the boxes have been stacked in an unusual way. Instead we used the duct tape to place the bamboo onto the legs. Whilst creating this part and looking at this photograph I feel that this part of our bridge looks very unique, I like the look of the bamboo tapes together because it looks so organic against the cardboard boxes. I like that the bamboo is leaning onto the boxes. If we were allowed more bamboo we would have continued to use it for the whole bridge. After this picture we decided to play around with the angles of the leg - we were going to play the leg at an opposite angle to the bamboo by cutting a section of the card from the bottom square. This way the leg could balance on its own. This was very challenging as the angle had to be measured correctly otherwise the whole bridge would fall to one side and collapse. We were able to balance the leg with help of the bamboo which was taped onto the cubes. We only did this to one leg as we didn't have enough time to do both - it was a very lengthy process of cutting the right angle. If were given more time I think we could  have balance both legs out giving our bridge an even more appealing and unusual look.

From the beginning we planned to have a tunnel - this was because we knew we could not use bamboo for the main road and would have to have a simple cardboard as the structure. So in order to add the character we had given to the legs and slope we wanted something a little bit different.  We cut out the tunnel with different sized strips of card that bent in the middle. We was going to cut out designs into these strips like windows however we had a lack of time. If we were going to redo this part of the bridge we would have spent more time in giving the tunnel these designs. However I do like the triangular shape that is created throughout the tunnel - the sections in between generated shadows within the tunnel that was a very beautiful detail. When we assembled this part of the bridge it was clear that the bridge was almost finished and for the first time actually looked like a bridge. We used several bamboo sticks and taped them together to create the length of the bridge. We made two of these which we taped to the bottom of the card so that there was more strength in the middle of our bridge - this bamboo would help to straighten this part and prevent it from collapsing in to itself (stop it from being flimsy.) At this point we were given lots of compliments by people outside of the group for its unique look. It took several of us to lift this part of the bridge up and tape to the bamboo slopes either side of the legs.

The last thing we had to do was to place brackets either side of the slope so that the car wouldn't drive of of the track before getting to the other side. This was pretty simple to make. Once the main part of the bridge was out onto the legs we realised that they couldn't support this part of the structure - we needed more support. And in order to sustain our bridge we had to add more legs - which we did with four extra bamboo on the inside of the legs. After this and other small details the bridge was completed just in time for the end. Overall I am really happy with how our bridge turned out - we were able to challenge ourselves and use our skills to get the bridge completed. I felt that our bridge looked the most sturdiest as we discussed together how the car would fit and cross our bridge safely so added details such as the bridge to protect the car. I was surprised with how well our team worked we got on very well. We could challenge each other ideas or suggest better ones which meant we all were able to have a say and express our opinions. No body was 'slacking' but we all wanted to help each other and find jobs to do even if it meant simply assisting. We were all efficient with time however at the end it was a little bit of a mad rush to get everything done (however so were many other groups.) To improve our time management we could have planned in advance different sections for people to focus on instead of deciding after we had finished one section.

When the time came for the car to drive over our bridge were all nervous although secretly confident because we knew we planned in great detail for how it would turn out. The slope enabled the card to climb up the angle with ease as the wheel's followed the bamboo tracks easily. As the car got to the start of the main road it travelled at the fastest of any of the other cars - this was because the tunnel protected the car from falling of and the tutor felt at ease speeding the car through the tunnel - however the speed the car was travelling at meant the car flew out of the other end before it could travel down the slope and fell of. Nevertheless our bridge worked! It was a success.