Auxetic cell structures are rare in nature, but their structural composition gives them some very special properties. Because, under pressure, they contract in every direction, Auxetics are used to insert medical stent pipes into veins to keep them open. Their ability to absorb large amounts of energy makes them a prospective shock absorber for aerospace and transportation application, but their potential in architecture and design has been rarely investigated.
The rapid growth of 3D-printing economy and the development of technology that comes with it, enables designers to work with structures that could not have been manufactured some years ago. This work is an investigation into the potential of Auxetic structures for design applications and displays a possible way to implement their elastic properties in dynamic furniture design. For that we have been investigating the composition and properties of cell structures, Digital structure simulation as well as additive manufacturing technologies.