Background
Reciprocal frames have a long and proven history in construction.
In Medieval times, when available timbers were too short to span a suspended floor, the solution was to use a frame of mutually supporting timbers in a planar grillage arrangement of reciprocal frames.
Leonardo da Vinci used the reciprocal frame concept repeatedly for his designs to support bridges. It is this inherent strength of the reciprocal frame that we have made use of for the roof of the RSK shelter.
The tensile strength per unit weight of bamboo is 3 to 4 times that of steel making it an ideal construction material for the reciprocal frame roof of the RSK shelter.
Leonardo Da Vinci's sketch of a reciprocal frame
A reciprocal frame is a self-supporting structure