Chia-Chin Tsoo & Bih-Yaw Jin

Statement

We apply traditional beading techniques to the construction of physical models of nanoscale inorganic compounds consisting of ions arranged periodically in minerals and to the construction of other non-molecular crystalline solids. The spatial arrangements of these systems consisting of a regular arrangement of anions around a central cation, or vice versa, is called a coordination polyhedron. Coordination polyhedra are building blocks larger than individual atoms. Starting from a few coordination polyhedra such as regular tetrahedra and octahedra, a wide range of aesthetically pleasing skeletal sculptures inspired by inorganic solids can be built by using the standard angle weave technique of tubular bugle beads.

Artworks

An octet-truss lattice structure with face centered cubic (fcc) crystal symmetry is a truss-like space frame based on the stacking of tetrahedra and octahedra in a ratio of 2:1. The octet-truss space frame is strong and lightweight because of the inherent rigidity of their fundamental building motifs. The bugle bead model presented represents a finite skeletal structure according to the fcc close packing and consists of a central smaller cuboctahedron (brown bugle beads) and an outer layer of frequency-two cuboctahedron (yellow bugle beads).

The lattice structure with hexagonal close packed (hcp) arrangement is closely related to the fcc octet-truss. However, instead of the ABC type of stacking sequence in the fcc system, the hcp arrangement has ABAB stacking. The bugle bead model presented represents a finite skeletal structure according to the hexagonal close packing and consists of a central smaller anticuboctahedron (red bugle beads) and an outer layer of frequency-two anticuboctahedron (blue bugle beads).