In a Masterclass with Price & Myers, Science&Engineering Club members from Manchester Metropolitan University and Art&Design Club members from Bolton School of Arts came together to explore the possibilities of creating and building with triangular geometry.
Tim Lucas, Structural Engineer and Partner at Price & Myers, began the Masterclass by discussing the fundamental concept of a triangle and its importance in building and infrastructure. He explained that because triangles are inherently strong, they are widely used in engineering, especially in the design of bridges, buildings and sculptures. During his introduction, Tim shared his own career journey with visuals and recordings of projects he had worked on.
Following this introduction, Club members were encouraged to experiment with different materials to build bridges, towers, or any other structures they could imagine, with one guideline: everything had to incorporate triangles. The materials provided included bamboo sticks, tape, zip ties, card, and cardboard. Club members worked in teams to create various structures. Some notable creations included a 3D dodecagon, a phone easel and a tall tower Club members named ‘Mount Penguin’. One memorable moment was when Tim shared his experience of designing a bridge that could move from one side to the other by rotating, inspiring some Club members to create their own movable structures, with at least two teams successfully building spinning models.
Towards the end of the Masterclass, everyone displayed their creations and discussed their designs. Tim provided technical insights, relating the concepts behind the Club members’ projects to real-world engineering applications.