Drape Shape

An interesting conceptual model only known from a 1960 newspaper article and photo, where Goldberg referred to it as “Drape Shape”. Likely a study model for transferring loads for the Dearborn and Goethe project, this structural strategy reappears at Marina City.

In the article, drape shape is described as a “shape-for-strength,” as Goldberg makes analogies to explain the form: first of a felt Boy Scout hat with indentations to make it semi-rigid, using the form to add strength without adding more material, the second of a piece of paper which when rolled into a cylinder gains strength without additional material.

The newspaper article specifically alludes to the dented hat strategy being used in a project in Mobile Alabama, referencing the earlier Pineda Island design with sweeping shell roof structures. The drape shape is offered as a way to escape post/beam and right-angle construction which Goldberg also notes does not occur in nature. Rather, he sites eggs and mushrooms as efficient structures.

Drape shape, with only this one reference to work with, suggests rich ideological content. Goldberg oddly connects its form and structural solution to a social agenda of improving human living conditions, seeing architects producing poor solutions through misguided design strategies related to the right angle. Drape shape is an early example of Goldberg’s interest in both formal and social ideologies.