Patent ID: 7392624

Claim:
A structural column, comprising: a plurality of column components, said column components including a plurality of column panels, each column panel comprising a top edge, a bottom edge, a first flat side, a second flat side, an inward-facing surface and an outward-facing surface, said first flat side directly connected to said second flat side and oriented at an obtuse angle from said second flat side, a plurality of said column panels being aligned in a first horizontal array about a vertically oriented common central axis, such that said obtuse angle is of a magnitude to allow inward-facing surface of said first flat side of one column panel to align with said inward-facing surface of said second flat side of an adjacent column panel, a plurality of said column panels being aligned in a second horizontal array of column panels, similar to said first horizontal array, said first and second horizontal arrays of column panels being aligned along said vertically oriented common central axis to form two adjoining horizontal arrays, wherein at least one column component within said first horizontal array being attached to a component within said second horizontal array, and at least one column component within said second horizontal array being attached to a component within said first horizontal array, at least one of said column panels of said first horizontal array being of a substantially different vertical length from other column panels therein such that said bottom edges of column panels within said first horizontal array are offset in different horizontal planes from each other and said top edges are generally in the same horizontal plane, and at least one of said column panels of said second horizontal array is of a substantially different vertical length from other column panels therein such that said top edges are offset in different horizontal planes from each other and said bottom edges are generally in the same horizontal plane, said first and second flat sides of at least one offset column panel in said first horizontal array being attached to at least second and first flat sides, respectively, of an offset column panel in said second horizontal array, said column panels being staggered within said first and second horizontal arrays, so as to form a staggered relationship having a plurality of seams, said seams occurring where said top and bottom edges of said column panels meet, said seams lying in substantially different horizontal planes from each other throughout said column, said column panels within said column being offset, or staggered, thereby creating column strength.