Early Examples
The "diagonal rider" structural element was used by Joshua Humphreys in the first US Navy sail frigates in 1794. Diagonal riders are viewable in the interior hull structure of the preserved USS Constitution on display in Boston Harbor. The structure was a pioneering example of "non-orthogonal" structural components. However they do not constitute a space frame.
The "diagonal riders" were included in these naval vessels' construction to reduce the problem of hogging in the ship's hull.
Calling any diagonal wood brace (as used on gates, buildings, ships or other structures with cantilevered or diagonal loads) an example of geodesic design is a misnomer. In a geodetic structure, the strength and structural integrity, and indeed the shape, come from the diagonal "braces" - the structure does not need the "bits in between" for part of its strength (implicit in the name space frame) as does a more conventional wooden structure.
Read more about this topic: Geodetic Airframe
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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