Design Students Face a Make-or-Break Assignment

A tough break is coming for University of Cincinnati architecture and interior design sophomores who will stretch their limits in an unusual "span test" set for 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, in Room 4400 of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP).

About 70 young designers, working in small groups, will build 8-foot-long bridges of all-organic materials like wood, rope and string.  Then, each group must cross its bridge en masse, explained Tom Bible, associate professor of architecture.  If the bridge survives the initial test, the real fun begins.  Then, fellow students also pile atop until the bridge breaks and comes tumbling down.  In all, about 20 bridges will be tested.

The assignment, part of a Structures II course, represents one of the students' first-time  tries at translating theoretical design into reality.  The goal, said Bible, is to design and build the lightest possible bridge that will hold all team members.  In the past, students have built bridges of less than 5 pounds that supported nearly 500 pounds of student, with a ratio of more than 100 pounds of student per pound of bridge.  The lessons for the assignment include the mathematical equations for figuring tension, torque, support size and strength.

Many of the sophomores will face their fate in high style as it's something of a custom to dress in costume for the test of strength.  "It's Mardi Gras season, and I think that's where the costumes come in," explained Bible.