How to Build a Ringed Structure

By The Mother Earth News Editors
Published on March 1, 1984
1 / 14

Hot vegetable oil makes the plastic pipe pliable.
Hot vegetable oil makes the plastic pipe pliable.
2 / 14

A six-ringed structure.
A six-ringed structure.
3 / 14

The heating technique can be used to make ground pegs (top) and inter-ring clamps.
The heating technique can be used to make ground pegs (top) and inter-ring clamps.
4 / 14

The plastic pipe can stretch over a swage and take a new form.
The plastic pipe can stretch over a swage and take a new form.
5 / 14

Both the homemade couplings and the clamps are simple to form and install. 
Both the homemade couplings and the clamps are simple to form and install. 
6 / 14

Variety is the key to Corey's woven-ring structures.
Variety is the key to Corey's woven-ring structures.
7 / 14

Then, it was pushed up to form the skeleton for a walk-in dome.
Then, it was pushed up to form the skeleton for a walk-in dome.
8 / 14

First, the six-ringer was lifted to waist height. 
First, the six-ringer was lifted to waist height. 
9 / 14

A larger-diameter pipe was used to make this eight-ringed structure.
A larger-diameter pipe was used to make this eight-ringed structure.
10 / 14

This camouflage version might serve as a hunting blind.  
This camouflage version might serve as a hunting blind.  
11 / 14

Assembling a ringed structure, stage one.
Assembling a ringed structure, stage one.
12 / 14

Assembling a ringed structure, stage two.
Assembling a ringed structure, stage two.
13 / 14

 A six-ring dome covered with UV-treated clear PVC film and reinforced with base and upper tensioning rings.
 A six-ring dome covered with UV-treated clear PVC film and reinforced with base and upper tensioning rings.
14 / 14

Assembling a ringed structure, stage three.
Assembling a ringed structure, stage three.

Shelter is as basic to humanity’s survival as sustenance is . . . yet our approach to structural design has often taken a more complicated path than seems necessary. The “build it solid as a battleship” attitude toward construction appears to have pervaded the thoughts of at least Western civilization for a good long time (after all, the castles of medieval Europe could be said to be as overbuilt as New York City’s turn-of-the-century skyscrapers).

Of course, Mother Nature doesn’t always take the same approach. Her handiwork typically expresses–even in all its beauty–a striking attention to calculation and succinctness that’s so conspicuous it’s easily overlooked. Such economy of design is apparent in something as simple as the shell of an egg: Its elongated spherical shape lends itself quite adequately to its purpose as a container . . . yet that form also has a compressional strength (end to end) that’s far beyond what we might imagine when viewing the thinness of its calcium wall.

Furthermore, similar compositions exist in more intricate natural structures, reinforcing the “minimal material for maximum strength” principle. The wing of a dragonfly, for example, has a gossamer-like consistency . . . but maintains rigidity by virtue of a geometric network of filaments stretching throughout the whole. Similarly, a precise helix pattern appears within plant stems, cacti, and even the nucleotides that makeup DNA molecules.

Ringed Structure Geometry 

It seems only natural, then, that designers would be eager to take full advantage of the models provided them by their environment. And to some extent, they do. The triangulated truss seen in construction parallels the configuration of a bird’s metacarpal wing bone . . . and industrial research into the development and application of composite materials represents an attempt to simplify, and reduce the mass of, a large variety of structures.

Yet the concept can still be applied to many other areas of design . . . and the ringed structures that we’re about to introduce you to are one manifestation of that mode of thought.

Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368