Tetras
TETRAS extends the investigation of vulcanized fiber (VF) assemblies by introducing the question of usability and functionality into the design process. Whereas previous experiments—such as the Squares series and the Vienna Design Week installation—focused primarily on formal and structural behaviors emerging from material deformation, TETRAS seeks to translate these phenomena into spatial and practical affordances. The experiment examines how the self-deforming nature of VF can generate inhabitable and functional configurations, transforming the experimental installation into a space that can be entered, occupied, and used. The system is developed from tetrahedral units, each formed through the manual cutting and folding of wet vulcanized fiber sheets. During the two-week drying period, each component deforms uniquely, producing a heterogeneous family of elements that nonetheless maintain a shared geometric logic. The experiment expands the typological vocabulary of previous tests by introducing three geometrical units: single tetrahedrons, pyramids formed by merging two tetrahedrons, and rhombic units merging three. These hybrid components introduce horizontal planes capable of acting as seats, shelves, or other functional surfaces, thus incorporating pragmatic usability within the spatial system.
The assembly operates through a dual construction logic, combining face-to-face VF connections and VF–wood hybrid joints using wooden rods. This technique produces differentiated densities across the installation—areas of structural compactness contrast with more open, permeable regions. As a result, the piece evolves from a purely compositional aggregation into a spatial device of varied inhabitation, allowing visitors to sit, lean, or occupy niches within the structure.
“Tetra Pak” packaging container (Wikipedia, cc).Production diagram from the “Tetra Pak” patent (Swedish Patent Database, SE123250 C1, 1944).
Table showing four space filling tetrahedra as described by Sommerville. (from Michael Goldberg, “Three Infinite Families of Tetrahedral Space-Fillers,” Journal of Combinatorial Theory A, 16, pp. 348–354, 1974.)The irregular Tetrahedron "Sommerville Type1" is a space-filling unit. From it's four faces, each two meet at 90° along two opposite edges (red).Based on the production principle of Tetra Pak, tetrahedral solids in the form of “Sommerville Type 1”, a packable unit can be formed from flat sheets of Vulcanized Fiber.
The unroll form and folding principle is expanded to produce pyramid, and rhomboid shapes - aggregated forms of two, and three tetra modules respectively. Through the triangulated geometry and linear connections at the seams the volumetric shape forms and stabilizes itself in the assembly and drying processes.
Adjacent parts can be overlapped and connected directly with two tetra edges aligned parallel. The same connection can be found on the opposite face, resulting in a different spatial configuration.
Following the same principle, parts can be joined to a stick which extends the edge direction from one part to the next. Depending on stick length, the configuration is spaced out.
Assembly with the help of Augmented Reality
Photo by Mario Buda