Philosophy of Structure (s)
Arch 526 Pieter Sijpkes
In this course we will think about, research and try to
understand the role structure plays in the design and
construction of buildings in the past, today and into the
future. Particular attention will be given to current and
past structural applications of the inherent strength and
stiffness resulting from curvature, in particular double
curvature.
3D Modeling in
the fashion
industry where
flexibility of 3d
forms is a desired
aspect
• We will frequently look back, to try to ‘reverse engineer’
existing structures. In my view this one of the great benefits
of being a student of architecture or civil engineering:
structures are around us where ever we go and the time
waiting for a bus or an airplane can be very pleasantly
spent looking around and evaluating the structures that are
inevitably in sight.
• The history of architecture literature (and, these days, of
course the internet) is a bottomless resource and having so
many examples of good structural design at our finger tips
makes designing elegant efficient and economic structures
even more the professional and moral duty of an architect.
• This course has deliberately a restricted enrolment, so that
flexibility and experimentation is possible.
• We will focus not only on curvature and
double curvature in final, constructed form,
but also on how to derive the forms and how
to construct them full scale.
• A few examples of structures we will focus on:
• The Duomo by Brunelleschi in Florence
• The work of Felix Candela
• The work of Frei Otto
the geometry and execution of the
Brunelleschi’s Florence Duomo
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkBaxFuh
40E
• http://bacweb.org/journal/2014_02/nib2.php
Link to Mars Project
Winter experimentation.
• Because of the limited number of students, the path of the course
can be shaped to suit the skills and interests of the all, students and
staff alike. In this particular case we even have the opportunity to
let the course schedule be influenced by the weather, as the plan is
to experiment with the construction of ice structures outside on the
campus- ice being the cheapest material available for relatively
large scale structures.
• To have a large supply of ready-made ice available I suggest that
everybody (collectively) buy a pack of one hundred 12 inch
balloons. These balloons can hold about 5 liters of water, so after
filling and freezing, every student will have half a ton of ice available
for further experimentation this winter.
• The minimum night temperature from next
Monday on will be well below freezing, so,
small scale experiments can start almost right
away, particularly since small experiments can
also be done in the freezer compartment of
any refrigerator.
• Assignment 1.
• Think of a way to make a small scale ice dome with the span of, say a soup
bowl, or if you want a salad bowl. Execute your plan during the next week,
photograph the result and show the picture(s) in class next Friday. The
final product has to be exclusively of ice!
• Hint: A plant sprayer or other vaporizer I a good way to build up thickness.
• Gently heating the bowl ‘formwork’ will keep the ice shell intact
• However trivial this exercise may sound, it touches on several basic
aspects of construction: the use of temporary form work and the difficulty
or ease with which it can be extracted. The application of building material
in a phase different from the final phase (from liquid to solid in this case)
is also analogues to the use of concrete or adobe. Even in this small
experiment you will be able to experience the relative strength and
stiffness of a double-curved surface. Cast a flat slab of ice while you’re
doing dome and see how easily it breaks!
Why Beams Are Inherently Inefficient
and Why We Use Them Anyway
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Types of single- and double-curved structures:
Form passive structures:
Rigid materials: stone, brick, ice, snow
Plastic Materials: adobe, concrete, water (in a freezing environment)
Timber: Timber shells, timber frameworks
Steel: Steel framed shells, steel thin shells
Form passive structures:
Fabric surfaces
Methods for rigid materials:
Fully supported by scaffolding
Only ‘outline’ form work
Methods for plastic materials:
Fully supported by scaffolding
Rapid prototyping (like swallows)
Methods for timber:
Prefabrication frame work
In-place thin shell
Methods for steel:
Pre-fabrication frame work
In-place thin shell
Methods for fabric or cable-net structures:
Pre-fabrication and installation on the site