Octet-Parametric-Plate-Truss

Resch’s parametric design of the 'Octet Plate Truss' has a design constraint requiring that any of the linear sequences of triangular plates are identical. This achieves the desired economy of reducing the otherwise very large number of non-identical parts to a very small number. As a standard flat truss all triangles are the same, yet to get out of a flat 2-D layer configuration the elements must be different. Typical geometric design methods would produce structures in which all the triangular elements are different. Sequenced examples of my Octet-Truss Plate design may be found in: "The Topological Design of Sculptural and Architectural Systems", Proc. AFIPS Conference, Vol. 42, 1973, pp. 643-650.