Equilibrium / Tetrahedron, Messezentrum Basel / Swiss Art Award 2013

The project
In the context of the Swiss Art Awards 2013, field of architecture, the project Equilibrium by Wolfgang Rossbauer and Moritz Häberling was realized and submitted and even won an award. Basically, a supporting structure is to be placed stably on the ground with means reduced to a minimum and this only with contact surfaces subject to pressure. The choice of the bodies required for this should be as simple as possible in their geometric form. The solution Thus, the basic body is a tetrahedron, the surface of which is formed by stable triangles. The unstable tetrahedra, which are placed on top of each other, are held in position by gravity using a heavy steel plate.

The construction
Without welding or screwing, the load is transferred purely by the pressure of individual parts lying on top of each other. Without changing the basic elements (tetrahedrons), the rotation of the tetrahedrons opens up four different heights in the set-up (bar/table/chair+bench/salon table). In the construction of four tables stacked on top of each other, a cross-story construct is created, whose load lines are precisely derived. The impression: instability. Fragility dominates the appearance. The consequence The complete load balancing is the result - thus a stable equilibrium is created. Execution and positioning was done in cooperation with the engineer, so the safety aspect could also be taken into account. With their daredevil installation, the creators of the Equilibrium were able to secure a national award at the Swiss Art Awards 2013.