Tensile Library
SPRING 2021
CORNELL UNIVERSITY ARCH 1102 DESIGN II
PROFESSOR(S): SASA ZIVKOVIC & FELIX HEISEL
Located at the Fall Creek Natural Area in Ithaca, New York, this library bus stop aims to educate people about a local environmental issue. Currently, an invasive species, known as the Emerald Ash Borer, are eating away at the ash tree population in the Finger Lakes region of New York. As a result, Cornell is cutting down 1700 of these ash trees for safety reasons. This bus stop is constructed using two recycled ash trees, each milled into 1” planks. Metal cables are woven through the ash tree planks and pull on these planks to create curvilinear forms. The metal cables also weave through the preexisting wall ruins on the site to anchor the structure. On one side of the bus stop, this wall also becomes a bench that provides a place for people to sit, read, or wait for the bus. The other side includes the book storage system in which books are hung on thinner metal wires. Overall, this project produces a space where the locals can learn about a critical environmental issue, be protected from the natural elements, and wait for their next bus.
Tensile Bookshelf
Before designing the final architectural intervention, I worked with Ann Ren to create a bookshelf that incorporated our shared interest tensile architecture and our preferred materials, aluminum and timber. The bookshelf uses aluminum cables to pull pieces of timber together and create organic, curved geometries. Once pulled together, these curved pieces of wood create spaces for open display, closed book display, and book storage. The forms and architectural ideologies developed in this bookshelf later acted as one of the main influences of my own final design.
The ash tree population in the Finger Lakes region of New York is currently comforting an invasive insect species from Northern China. Known as the Emerald Ash Borer, this beetle burrows into the trunks of these trees which causes them to become weak and eventually die. Cornell is planning to cut down 1700 of these trees by Mid March, 2021. These cut down tree trunks will either be left in the woods to decompose or will be cut down to use as firewood. Located at the Fall Creek Natural Area, “Tensile Curvature” aims to educate people about this local environmental issue. “Tensile Curvature” is constructed using two recycled ash trees, which are each milled into 1” planks.
Utilizing Ash Trees
