Geodesic Temple

A sculpture by Disorient at Burning Man 2011.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Geodesic Temple (GeoTem06) is a modular, self-supported, burnable structure made of octahedrons, a regular polyhedron with 8 identical equilateral triangular faces which is also a geodesic volume and a platonic solid. The octahedron is used as building block to create a self-supporting structure. All octahedrons have similar sizes and are made of 2x4 struts.

The Geodesic Temple is one of the most ambitious efforts attempted by Disorient in its 11 years of existence, yet Disorient has never been in a better place to transform this idea into a success. One of the strengths of Disorient is its community and the tight connections that binds its members. Its base of veteran burners has welcomed newcomers for the past decade, many of which are now part of the core group of DOers (Disorienters). Disorient is always open and welcoming to newbies. 230 DOers camped at Disorient in 2010. The Geodesic Temple is a new direction for Disorient but we are confident that we can build this new piece because of our workforce of literally 100s of on-Playa DOers.

Also discuss: The choice of using the octahedron as the basic module of Geodesic Temple was dictated by the physical qualities of the octahedron. It is the second strongest platonic solids after the tetrahedron.

Modularity is one of the core principles of Disorient as expressed in the Disorient Model ( http://wiki.disorient.info/index.php?title=Disorient_Model ). The Geodesic Temple is no exception as it is radically modular. It is exclusively composed of 144 octahedrons, all similar. Each octahedron is made of 24 identical 2x4 struts.

Structural integrity. The way the design of the structure organizes octahedrons in interlocked closed loops helps with structural integrity.

Connectors. Strong, burnable. "No connector is the best connector." (needs website reference)

Connecting octahedrons.

Provides shade.

FABRICATION

From the experience we have gained assembling our own geodesic domes and our expertise with large scale inflatable structures we understand that precision is crucial at all stages of the building process when putting together large geodesic structures as any mistake will be amplified down the line if not corrected immediately.

To reach a satisfying level of accuracy we will have the 2x4 struts cut before they are delivered to the Playa (need quote from wood provider to have them cut the ends of each 2x4s to specification).

On Playa we will have cells (cells are teams in Disorient jargon http://wiki.disorient.info/index.php?title=Disorient_Model ) dedicated to a specific part of the assembly process. Members of each cell will become experts at the specific tasks that they need to perform.

The different steps of on-Playa assembly are performed in parallel by several cells. - Octahedron Assembly Cell creates octahedrons by connecting 2x4s together. Some members of this cell are responsible for quality control. Octahedrons that will not be satisfying will either be corrected or, if beyond correction, used in related projects which require a lower level of accuracy such as Disorient camp frontage or Disorient mutant vehicle transformation. - Octahedron Connecting Cell creates "C" modules by connecting octahedrons together on the ground. Two types of C modules are created: "regular" C uses 3 octahedrons, "long" C uses 5 octahedrons. Long C modules are used only at the base of the structure. The 16 octahedrons on which the structure rests are part of 8 long C modules. Both types of C modules can be assembled on their flat side on the ground by a crew of 6-8 using 6' ladders. - GeoTem Assembly Cell. Specializes in connecting C modules together. After having created 4 GeoTem04 by connecting two long C modules together with one C module this Cell will connect the top octahedrons of the existing structure together with C modules until the entire structure is complete.

LIGHTING

Options being considered:
1. Elements of New Leo Sign (2010) mounted on the struts. Color: Orange.
2. Sequenced LED fixtures (colorblast type) installed inside and outside the structure. Color: Pornj (pink and orange), Disorient's color.
3. Sequenced LED modules mounted on each outside octahedron connector.

BURN

We understand that the 2x4 struts as shown in GeoTem06 are too far apart for the fire to start and propagate well and we can think of two solutions to remedy this problem.
1. Add combustible material such as hemp bags 3/4 filled with hay inside the octahedrons located in the lower part of the structure (show combustible material placement throughout the structure).
2. Reduce the length of the basic 2x4 strut from 8 feet to 4 feet. The design concept would remain the same but the resulting structure would have more octahedrons, more levels and more wood in general to reach the same dimension (make sketch showing structure made with octahedrons using 4' and 6' 2x4s).
We welcome advice from Burning Man experts.

ROLES (preliminary list)

Director: The Eye of Disorient
Light art: Leo Villareal
Design: Clarice Bodganov
Producers: Ky, Dimitri, Tejawe
Architects: Devyn Osborne, Aura
Engineer:
Build Co-Leads: Victoria Wagner, Amber Alliger
Octahedron Assembly Lead: Jay Mingle
Octahedron Assembly Cell 1: 4 people (Archer)
Octahedron Assembly Cell 2: 4 people
Octahedron Assembly Cell 3: 4 people
Octahedron Connection Lead: Joe Che
Octahedron Connection Cell 1: 4 people
Octahedron Connection Cell 2: 4 people
Octahedron Connection Cell 3: 4 people
GeoTem Assembly Lead: Matt Patane
GeoTem Assembly Cell: 4 people
Light:
Electrical:
Burn Cell: 10 people (need help with this as we've never burned a piece this size)
PR:
Photo/video/blog documentation: 4 people (Jan, Magellan)
Time Lapse photography: Ori Leibovitz
Clean-up Lead: TBA
Clean-up Cell: 40 people

Contact the(dot)eye(at)disorient(dot)info if you wish to be added to this list.

Preliminary Sketches

GeoTem07

Height: 61' Length: 116' Width: 82'. 24 struts x ?? octahedrons = ?? 2x4x8' struts.

GeoTem06

Iteration of GeoTem04 and GeoTem05


Height: 64' Length: 82' Width: 82'. 24 struts x 144 octahedrons = 2736 2x4x8' struts.

GeoTem05

Iteration of GeoTem04

Height: 52' Length: 57' Width: 57'. 24 struts x 55 octahedrons = 1320 2x4x8' struts.

GeoTem04

Height: 32' Length: 33' Width: 33'. 24 struts per octahedrons x 13 octahedrons = 312 2x4x8' struts.

GeoTem03

Height: 36 feet. 24 struts x 57 octahedrons = 1368 2x4x8' struts.

GeoTem 01, 02

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Height: 91 feet. All icosahedrons are the same size.

3D files

GeoTem03, 04, 05, 06: Media:GeoTemOcta01.skp‎
GeoTem01, 02: Media:GeoTemIco.skp‎

Notes

- Interactivity: some elements are left free-standing on the ground so they can be moved/rolled by anyone to reconfigure the piece.
- Skin: sides can be (partially) skinned individually. Skinning the structure would help with shade, burn and lighting but would create more resistance to wind which is a problem on the playa. Maybe only lower parts of the structure are skinned?
- Camp frontage and Dex transformation uses same polyhedron as Geodesic Temple.

References:
From Victoria's inspirations and JoeChe on FB