Core77

QuaDror, a New Structural Joint to Build On

By Robert Blinn - February 23, 2011

in Tech | Sustainable Design

Core77 had the opportunity to be invited into Dror Benshetrit's Studios to take a glimpse at QuaDror, his new structural joint. QuaDror is a lap joint construction that provides for limited freedom of movement without the use of a traditional pin. The design is elegant enough to prompt wonderment that it hasn't already been built in the world, even as forgotten carpentry. By superimposing two lap joint frames with miter cuts, Dror makes the formation of a collapsible structure possible. Once a load is applied to the top of the two frames, it spreads out to an optimal angle for load distribution. Dror said that the finished structure could attain the strength of a correspondingly wide concrete or steel structure while using only 20% of the material.

Just unveiled at the Design Indaba conference in Cape Town South Africa, Dror sees a future where his joint could be used in everything from modular housing to wind absorbing highway barriers. As is appropriate for the Indaba conference, QuaDror can also easily be deployed as the basis for emergency housing. Using only the "knuckle" of his joint as a jig allows the fabrication of a strong foundation upon which local sustainable materials (bamboo, wood, etc.) could be used as trusses. Manufacturing the precision high load "knuckles" in steel would make emergency shipping extremely manageable. Further, due to the weight efficiency of his product, even QuaDror made of steel I-beams on a housing scale can be lifted by a few human beings without the need for additional equipment.

Dror plans to release the joint as a shareware license for distressed areas while the aestheticly oriented (and correspondingly wealthier) developed world would need to pay to see it in deployed in contract furniture, or as rapid prototyped shells for lighting. We look forward to QuaDror being unleashed into the world. Check out the below Quadror Video.

QuaDror from Dror on Vimeo.

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Ted

11 years ago

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I wonder how it stacks up to things like earthquakes or other disasters. Looks really cool though for sure.
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Shalin

13 years ago

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I can only imagine how aerospace or shipbuilding companies would like to use this joint to save weight (and and thus fuel/energy) on their vehicles...

But, I find the patent/license thing a bit curious though...its mesmerizing to be sure, but I don't see how it's not born out of a special manufactured process. I mean...isn't this like trying to patent the wheel or sliced bread? Is the license in place so his company can design/manufacture the products with the name "QuaDror"?

--S
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Shalin

13 years ago

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OMFG...the video is like structural/civil engineering porn. It's so elegant and provides many possibilities... Still, I'm not totally sure this is truly new, but it's damn sexy stuff. Has http://architectureforhumanity.org/ been alerted?
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nobrand

13 years ago

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...There was the triangle, the rectangle, and now the QuaDror!
This is a neat variation on a triangulated structure, and a clever joint, but maybe a little premature. I think I'll derive a variation on a platonic solid and then name it after myself.... solipsism?
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Glennnn

13 years ago

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Having just made a QuaDror joint for myself out of foamboard, I can now see that it needs to be attached to other pieces for stability. The thicker versions with carefully angled surfaces can support themselves, as in those elegant walls. For the thinner versions some sort of flexible connectors or wedges are needed.
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Glennnn

13 years ago

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Yes! Yes! Yes! (Yes!)
He looks like the new Buckminster Fuller.
Absolutely spine-tingling!
It seems only natural that something so basic and useful should be so beautiful in both form and function.
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Eva Emilia

13 years ago

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Beautyfull, the reinvention of the block and very probably the revolution of the construction systems. Its inner aesthetics make us remember the sublime beauty inherent to the geometry and numbers, it just admirable!
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Shapeways

13 years ago

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Awesome to see the fundamental building blocks of design being re-invented again. Great work
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