Tools for Architectural Inspirations

The theme for this work is the seven ancient wonders of the world. It focuses on the silhouette of the wonders to form a puzzle. This puzzle is similar in style to the ancient puzzle called a stomachion, devised by Archimedes. Each of the silhouettes breaks down into seven parts which must fit into their outline. Completing each of the puzzles is only half of the fun. The other half is to be able to combine and create a silhouette of your own wonder. Ideally the cardboard used in these puzzles will be re-used from shipping boxes where they are outlined. This plays into the history of the wonders, where a majority of them had parts that were taken to be re-used in different projects.

It is simple to create the puzzles. The first step is to outline the silhouette on the cardboard. The second step is to cut this shape out. Third is to outline the silhouette onto a piece of cardboard or paper. This creates a solving zone. The fourth step is to cut along the guidelines within the silhouette creating seven distinct shapes. Now the puzzle is ready to be solves. This process can be done in five minutes with a good knife or thirty minutes with a very dull knife.

For this project to have succeeded there are several things that had to have preceded it. These include tangrams, stomachion puzzles, and the seven wonders. Tangrams and stomachion puzzles had to have come first as they were the key to solving how this project should move forward. Obviously the seven wonders of the ancient world and all of the research that came with them had to come before this project. The silhouettes of the wonders were only accessible thanks to the work done by others on the wonders. Future designers can use this project for two learning experiences. The first is the fusion of history or learning as a whole and games. This is an important aspect to this project because it could open the eyes of its users to new interests. The second thing that can be learned from this project is the aspect of re-usability. This is a main focus of this project because this is made with re-used parts. A goal of this project is that nothing is made specifically for this project, and that instead, the parts are being re-used. This project will inspire others to reuse their old cardboard to create new things. Hopefully, it will also usher in conscientious packaging. By this I mean that the creators of packaging will think of the potential use after the initial purpose is completed. If this project were to continue, I would have liked to enter into talks with some company that uses lots of cardboard packaging. The idea of the cuttable puzzle on the inside of the packaging would be a neat way to spread the idea of reusability.