Close examination of the results of filling honeycomb panels with polyurethane foam have ruled out honeycombs as a material which, laid over a membrane, would create the thickness of a shell. The reasons are:

1. During application the polyurethane foam expands, warping the paper panels and distorting the surface of the shell-to be.
2. To secure proper adhesion and a uniform thickness of the shell, layers of honeycomb panels would have to be fastened by hand not only to the membrane but also to each other.
3. The process proved to be too unreliable and labor intensive.

The idea-to use membranes as a guide in creating curvilinear surfaces for housing-remains intact, but a change in the use of materials has brought us to building a machine that is to pleat a metal mesh. The expansion of pleats will be stabilized by stapling them together in an open diamond pattern, on one or on both sides, stapling greatly increasing the rigidity of the mesh. Fabricated in panels of several widths and fastened to a chicken wire membrane by hand, the product will give us the thickness of a shell in one application. Once the machine is ready for production (within a month or two), we shall fill the pleats with layers of foam, shotcrete, and/or gunite, and after testing the panels will determine which is most pressure resistent, provides the best insulation, is waterproof, and insures surface control.

Though the strength of curvilinear walls depends in part on the curvature of the membrane, there is no need to solve two problems at once, namely produce a self-supporting shell, and to see whether it can be applied to more elaborate surface configurations as well. The shapes of the guest house and the kitchen lend themselves to experimentation without presenting severe structural problems, and ground-breaking is scheduled for September. The arched cable-supported structure, originally intended for the main house, will be revised to serve as a garage, and it will be built next spring.

Updates will be posted as soon as new data is available.

Revised Models