This student project named Happy Ivy was lightweight but also very strong, a good start for research on fibrous structures. The 2015 group of first-year Basic Design students explains their project as;

Arboriform, meaning “something tree-shaped” was the central theme of the project, however, we decided to focus more on the entwining movement of ivy. In order to create a material system that reflects this entwining behavior, we chose to research fibrous structures, specifically PVC hoses. It was a challenge to understand how we could make a very weak material such as these hoses stronger. That is why we created a composite structure that is lightweight enough not to harm the tree it’ll be placed on, but also strong enough so that we were able to give form to it. We used thin aluminum wiring inside of the hoses to achieve this. Pairs of hoses were weaved, then further weaved again to develop the structure. The final form of the knitted hoses was created from a systematic scheme to achieve the form we decided.

Students: Ceren Bilen, Dilruba Ağaçcıoğlu, Elifsu Oturan