A complex structure unveiled at Watches and Wonders

The TenCylindre is a cylindric deployable 7m-high tensegrity structure designed by the artist Clément Vieille for the Hermès watchmaker exhibited at Watches and Wonders 2021 in Geneva. It has been developed and built in collaboration with AEA SA group. Made up of composite tubes, stainless steel cables and avionic aluminum joints, it hangs, deploys along its axis, and get stable through self-stress applied by tensioning horizontal cables. Its highly complex behavior requires advance nonlinear analyses carried out with ANSYS software; fine engineering related to fine watchmaking of the Hermès H08 watch presented at the exhibition.

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Client: Hermès Horloger, Brügg

Artiste: Clément Vieille, Saint-Alban-Leysse

Structural engineer: INGPHI SA, Lausanne

Total Contractor: AEA SA, Le Lignon, Geneva

Collaborations/advise: University of Miami, SUPSI Lugano, EPFL Lausanne