io9: structural engineering

The Megastructures Where You'll Live in Space

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:03:01 PST

Where will you live when we move from our savage planetary existence to interstellar life on massive, engineered structures? We've got a gallery of concept art featuring some gorgeous, awe-inspiring ideas.

Lab-Designed Chair that Reconfigures Itself to Fit Your Spine

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:10:02 PDT

This chair was designed specifically to prevent cubicle-induced spine agony. Its back a mass of constantly-shifting, quiet springs and special "pliable" textile mesh, the Embody chair (pictured) is the latest thing from ergonomics wonder company Herman "Aeron Chair" Miller. The designer, Stumpf, is known for chairs specifically designed for people who work at computers all day, and the Embody is supposed to be the greatest of all his inventions.

Advertorial on the Herman Miller site claims that the chair somehow keeps your blood flow going and maintains a healthy metabolic rate. While that's not particularly convincing, what is intriguing is the way the chair back is designed to spring into the shape of your back and offer support no matter what position you're sitting in. Its natural position is to give lower back support (above), but the network of springs in back (closeup below) allow it to remold as you shift around in your seat.

As I type this, I'm sitting in the Herman Miller Aeron chair, another of Stumpf's ergo designs for computer jockeys, and if the Embody is anything like the Aeron, I think it might be worth checking out. Herman Miller chairs look almost like exoskeletons for a reason. They offer support, structural engineering style.

Embody Chairs [Herman Miller via PopSci]

Eiffel Tower's Massive New Observation Deck to be Made of Kevlar Webbing

Lisa Katayama — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 08:20:27 PDT

The Eiffel Tower has remained exactly the same for 120 years, but this year builders will be attaching a temporary, carbon Kevlar observation deck to its uppermost reaches. French architecture firm Serero will help Paris celebrate the 120th birthday of the tower by more than doubling the floor space at its top. We've got a full frontal tower view below.

The beauty of this addition to the tower is that there will be no modification of the existing tower — the observation deck will simply be bolted in place. This is one of the most ambitious temporary modification projects ever undertaken.
Image by Tristan Nitot

Serero Architects main page via Dwell