Category: Innovation & Enterprise

Earthquake Proof building design evaluation

Aisha DavisLeave a comment

In science we have been learning about Earth and Space. More specifically we have been learning about earthquakes in quite a lot of depth. With our knowledge of earthquakes, we have been tasked to create an Earthquake proof building. A project where we have a limited amount of blue tack and spaghetti and a limited time frame and must create a structure that can withstand a simulated earthquake. This project is meant to broaden our knowledge on earthquake proof architecture as earthquakes are a big and real problem around the world. Countries around the edge of the Pacific Ocean (the ring of fire) experiences the effects of earthquakes the most. Some of these countries include Chile, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. Approximately 20,000 people die each year to earthquakes, so ensuring that our structures can withstand even the strongest of earthquakes is an important development that all structures should be equipped with.

Our design was solid and survived all 3 earthquake types and was so sturdy it could be tipped upside down. The structure withstood all 3 earthquake types because of a few design features we included.

  • Doubled the spaghetti to make building stronger and sturdier
  • β€œCrossed over” design to reinforce the sturdiness of the building
  • Not too tall of a structure so the building wouldn’t tip over

All these factors made the structure be able to withstand the vibrations of the earthquake more meaning it would have less of an affect on the building

Our team worked well in designing the structure and when it came to building our structure, we all noted our strengths and capabilities and used those to assign each other jobs. This is one thing I would not change at all as using our strengths and capabilities like that was extremely beneficial in working together and getting assigned the right job. One thing I would change in this process is the actual design of our structure. Although we survived all earthquakes our building did not meet height requirements. To change this, I would make the base bigger to start with, so our tower had more of a potential to be higher. In order to do this, we need more spaghetti. I would spend less of our budget on the blue tack and move it over to buying more spaghetti. This would mean we would have to be a bit more conservative with the usage of blue tack but we were a bit excessive with it anyways.

Our final design on the day

InnovatED project Year 8

Aisha DavisLeave a comment

Our finished stall during the showcase.

Just recently we had our InnovatED project. I was in the art group and at first we were given a very vague explanation and rules on what our project could be. All we knew is that it had to make a positive difference. I knew I wanted to do something hands on because I learn more with hands on projects and thought back to the time I made blankets for cats in Japan during the winter time back in 2015.

From this thought I came up with the idea that we would donate these blankets to Cat Haven because thats where I got my own cat from and the colder months were approaching. It was a very brief idea but it still was possible. I came up with many random designs involving pets and other random foods.

One of the basic random designs I made for the blankets (I think it was a living potato) I didn’t continue this idea because it had no correlation to cats and it took too long to make.

At first I did a lot of research on what materials cats liked and then did some basic designs of the blankets. A few weeks into the project I was joined by two other students and we worked together to make these blankets possible. We were given suggestions by teachers to contact the place we were giving the blankets to (Cat Haven) to get a better idea of what they needed. After that we created our first prototype which we tested on my cat Arlo. He loved it and slept with it for multiple nights one small problem with this is that he used it as a pillow instead of a blanket and Cat Haven doesn’t accept pillows. We are still working on the design to make it seem more like a blanket.

This is my cat in Cat Haven. His stay would have been way more enjoyable with a blanket.