Bending-active Structures

1

Catenary Wooden Roof Structures…

, , , , ,

1
2
cropnichol

Conference Paper: Peer Reviewed

Catenary Wooden Roof Structures : Precedent Knowledge for Future Algorithmic Design and Construction Optimisation

N.Wong and K.Crolla

ABSTRACT |The timber industry is expanding, including construction wood product applications such as glue-laminated wood products (R. Sikkema et al., 2023). To boost further utilisation of engineered wood products in architecture, further development and optimisation of related tectonic systems is required. Integration of digital design technologies in this endeavour presents opportunities for a more performative and spatially diverse architecture production, even in construction contexts typified by limited means and/or resources. This paper reports on historic precedent case study research that informs an ongoing larger study focusing on novel algorithmic methods for the design and production of lightweight, large-span, catenary glulam roof structures. Given their structural operation in full tension, catenary-based roof structures substantially reduce material needs when compared with those relying on straight beams (Wong and Crolla, 2019). Yet, the manufacture of their non-standard geometries typically requires costly bespoke hardware setups, having resulted in recent projects trending away from the more spatially engaging geometric experiments of the second half of the 20th century. The study hypothesis that the evolutionary design optimisation of this tectonic system has the potential to re-open and expand its practically available design solution space. This
paper covers the review of a range of built projects employing catenary glulam roof system, starting from seminal historic precedents like the Festival Hall for the Swiss National Exhibition EXPO 1964 (A. Lozeron, Swiss, 1964) and the Wilkhahn Pavilions (Frei Otto, Germany, 1987), to contemporary examples, including the Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre (HCMA Architecture + Design, Canada, 2016). It analysis their structural concept, geometric and spatial complexity, fabrication and assembly protocols, applied construction detailing solutions, and more, with as aim to identify methods, tools, techniques, and construction details that can be taken forward in future research aimed at minimising construction complexity. Findings from this precedent study form the basis for
the evolutionary-algorithmic design and construction method development that is part of the larger study. By expanding the tectonic system’s practically applicable architecture design solution space and facilitating architects’ access to a low-tech producible, spatially versatile, lightweight, eco-friendly, wooden roof structure typology, this study contributes to environmentally sustainable building.

KEYWORDS |Precedent Studies, Light-weight architecture, Timber shell, Catenary,
Algorithmic Optimisation, Glue-laminated timber

DOWNLOAD | https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2023.1.611

CITATION |Crolla, K. and Wong, N. (2023) ‘Catenary wooden roof structures: Precedent knowledge for future algorithmic design and construction optimisation’, in Dokonal, W, Hirschberg, U and Wurzer, G (eds.), Digital Design Reconsidered – Proceedings of the 41st Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe 2023) – Volume 1, Graz, 20-22 September 2023, pp. 611–620

 
BSL_BABBS_030_T

Bending Bamboo Rules: Beyond Century…

, , , , ,

BSL_PUB_030_01
BSL_PUB_030_02
BSL_PUB_030_03
BSL_PUB_030_04
BSL_PUB_030_05

Journal Paper: Peer Reviewed

Bending Bamboo Rules: Beyond Century-Old Typologies

by Crolla K.

ABSTRACT | The ZCB Bamboo Pavilion, built in Hong Kong in 2015, is the largest bending-active bamboo grid shell structure to date. Globally, Hong Kong is one of the last places where raw bamboo is actively used in everyday construction. Yet, despite being ecologically sustainable, bamboo craftsmanship is slowly dissipating. Through several observations, discoveries, and projects, this paper discusses the sequential journey that generated a bold alternative to pre-existing local bamboo building typologies, challenging general perceptions and building regulations. The trade itself is not giving another path, but is receiving it as an alternative to fading away. Hence: by infusing digital technology into the design and construction process of a century-old building method, a fading vernacular tradition offers an alternative course of action centered on computational design.

KEYWORDS |Bamboo Architecture; Bending-active Shell Structures; Typology; Hong Kong; Project of Projects

DOWNLOAD | https://doi.org/10.1080/10464883.2018.1410669

CITATION |Crolla, Kristof. “Bending Bamboo Rules: Beyond Century-Old Typologies,” Journal of Architectural Education, 72:1 (2018), 135-145

BSL_BABBS_027_T

Building indeterminacy modelling – the…

, , , , , ,

BSL_PUB_027_01
BSL_PUB_027_02
BSL_PUB_027_03
BSL_PUB_027_04
BSL_PUB_027_05

Journal Paper: Peer reviewed

Building indeterminacy modelling – the ‘ZCB Bamboo Pavilion’ as a case study on nonstandard construction from natural materials

by Crolla K.

ABSTRACT | If unprocessed natural materials are the most environmentally friendly construction materials available, how do we develop and communicate design model and construction information that allows dealing with their volatile indeterminacies?

This paper discusses the design and development of the ‘ZCB Bamboo Pavilion’, a 30-metres-spanning, light-weight, bending-active gridshell from hand-tied bamboo poles, as a case study for the computational design and building information modelling of nonstandard architecture where both applied materials and employed craftsmanship are highly unpredictable in terms of accuracy and precision.
Reflective practice and participatory action research are used to extract knowledge on and challenge the environment of practice, and improve design and construction strategies. The project is used to discuss how traditional construction can be augmented through the strategic injection of computation in the design and construction process, how computation allows for a different mode of collaboration with increased impact for the designer, and how bespoke building information models enable an expanded architectural design solution space.
The paper concludes by arguing for a mode of digital design practice that more proactively operates within a field of real-world indeterminacy. The risk and ambiguity of working with indeterminacies are to be strategically balanced out against idealised digital set-ups and onsite opportunities.

KEYWORDS | High-tech versus Low-tech; Protocol for Error; Bamboo Architecture; Bending-active Gridshell; Form-finding; ZCB Bamboo Pavilion; Participatory Action Research; Reflective Practice

DOWNLOAD | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40327-017-0051-4

CITATION |Crolla, Kristof. “Building indeterminacy modelling – the ‘ZCB Bamboo Pavilion’ as a case study on nonstandard construction from natural materials,” Visualization in Engineering, 5:15 (December 2017)

BSL_BABBS_022_T

Bamboo Shelter

, , , , ,

BSL_PUB_022_01
BSL_PUB_022_02

Book Chapter

Bamboo Shelter

by Crolla K. and Klisz J.

ABSTRACT | The Bamboo Shelter by the Laboratory for Explorative Architecture & Design Ltd. (LEAD) is a temporary light-weight bending-active bamboo installation built on a rooftop at the UABBSZ 2015 exhibition. The design highlights and gives identity to a space for public gathering. This area is located in between the auditorium and adjacent cafe / exhibition building.

The installation is defined by an undulating membrane that is suspended between the building edges, bent over the handrail of the walkway up, and pulled down into a central seating area. This membrane is materialized by means of a diagrid made from thin bamboo sticks. These sticks are bent onsite and manually tied together according to specific building information that was extracted from computer models. These models employ digital real-time physics simulation tools to find form that is suitable for the selected material configuration. Specific annotation and construction documentation algorithms were developed to allow easy onsite construction without the need for conventional architectural drawings such as plans, sections or elevations.
This research project fits in a lineage of investigations on how computational design tools can be strategically inserted into low-tech construction methods and through this allow for innovative architectural outcome. The thesis is that by initiating form finding exercises from material and construction properties and restrictions, rather than from virtual speculation only, a much more practical and realistic project implementation becomes possible.
The Bamboo Shelter promotes the innovative use of natural materials that through their symbolic and cultural association enforce the local identity of the project location. But most importantly it illustrates how engaging architectural alternatives are possible from the simplest of means.

KEYWORDS |UABB 2015; Bamboo Shelter; Shell Structure

DOWNLOAD | https://www.amazon.com/Re-living-City-UABB-2015-Catalogue/dp/1945150033

CITATION |Crolla, Kristof, and Klisz Julien. “Bamboo Shelter”. In Betsky Aaron, A. Brillembourgn, H. Klumper, and D. Liu (Authors), Gideon Fink Shapiro (ed.), “UABB 2015 Catalogue”, Actar Publisions: New York, Barcelona, 2016, pp.632-635

BSL_BABBS_021_T

Building Indeterminacy Modelling …

, , , , , ,

BSL_PUB_021_01

Conference Paper: Peer reviewed

Building Indeterminacy Modelling – Computational Design And Low-Tech Construction Of A Hong Kong Bamboo Grid-Shell

by Crolla K. and Fingrut A.

ABSTRACT | This paper discusses the ‘ZCB Bamboo Pavilion’ as a case study for the computational design and building information modelling of structures where both applied materials and available craftsmanship are highly unpredictable in terms of accuracy and precision. The ‘ZCB Bamboo Pavilion’ is a thirty metres spanning, light-weight, and bending-active gridshell, completed in Hong Kong in September 2015 as a public event space. It is built from unprocessed bamboo poles, hand tied together according to traditional Cantonese bamboo scaffolding craftsmanship, and covered with tensile fabric.

The paper begins by describing the geometrically complex and structurally high-performing project, and illustrates the low-tech context in which it was realised. Built from flexible components, the pavilion’s tectonic system is a diagrid shell structure that folds down into three large hollow columns. It was developed using physics simulation engines and physical model prototyping. The bamboo used has widely varying geometric, dimensional, and performative properties, and the scaffolding industry, on whose principles it was based, does not use conventional architectural drawings for its intuitive construction, creating a highly indeterminate and complex field of operation.
Next, the paper discusses the building information modelling protocols put in place to respond to indeterminacies. It discusses the digital design models, the abstractions, and the assumptions that were strategically applied when developing the singular digital design proposal. The paper examines ways in which the digital modelling environment played an ongoing role in design as new refined data was added to the system. It then covers the construction documentation and annotation information that were used for onsite approximation.
The paper then discusses Hong Kong’s building code and architectural practice with respect to indeterminacy. The ‘ZCB Bamboo Pavilion’ highlights how conservative local building cultures can move towards more effective incorporation of natural materials. The paper concludes by discussing the necessity for digital design practice to proactively operate within a field of real-world indeterminacy. Risk, probability, and ambiguity are to be strategically balanced out against idealized digital set-ups and design priorities.

KEYWORDS | High-tech versus Low-tech; Protocol for Error; Bamboo Architecture; Bending-active Gridshell; Form-finding; ZCB Bamboo Pavilion; Participatory Action Research; Reflective Practice

DOWNLOAD | http://www.see.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp/seeit/icccbe2016/Proceedings/Full_Papers/049-181.pdf

CITATION |Crolla, Kristof, and Fingrut Adam. “Building Indeterminacy Modelling – Computational Design And Low-Tech Construction Of A Hong Kong Bamboo Grid-Shell”, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computing in Civil and Building Engineering (ICCCBE 2016), 8 pgs., Osaka, Japan, July, 2016, 389-397

BSL_PUB_005_T

Shipping Complexity- Parametric…

, , , , ,

BSL_PUB_005_01
BSL_PUB_005_02
BSL_PUB_005_03

Conference Paper: Peer Reviewed

Shipping Complexity – Parametric design for remote communities

by Carlow J. and Crolla K.

ABSTRACT | The Dragon Skin Pavilion is an architectural art installation that challenges and explores the spatial, tactile, and material possibilities architecture is offered today by revolutions in digital fabrication and manufacturing technology. The pavilion, built in the winter of 2012, is a study on how architects can reassert control over parts of the construction process previously surrendered to manufacturers and contractors, and how this enables them to materialize discoveries from the digital into the built environment.

KEYWORDS |Parametric Design; Structural Shell; Remote Communities; Embedded Intelligence; Digital Fabrication.

DOWNLOAD | http://papers.cumincad.org/cgi-bin/works/paper/cf2013_167

CITATION |Carlow, Jason, and Kristof Crolla. “Shipping Complexity – Parametric design for remote communities”. In Jianlong Zhang, Chengyu Sun (eds.), Global Design and Local Materialization: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference: CAAD Futures 2013, Shanghai, China, July 2013, CCIS369, Springer-Verlag Berin Heidelberg, 2013, pp. 167-175.

BSL_PUB_004_T

Dragon Skin Pavilion

, , , , ,

BSL_PUB_004_01
BSL_PUB_004_02
BSL_PUB_004_03
BSL_PUB_004_04
BSL_PUB_004_05
BSL_PUB_004_06
BSL_PUB_004_07

Conference Paper: Peer Reviewed

Dragon Skin Pavilion

by Crolla K., Delagrange S., Keskisarja E. and Tynkkynen P.

ABSTRACT |  The Dragon Skin Pavilion is an architectural art installation that challenges and explores the spatial, tactile, and material possibilities architecture is offered today by revolutions in digital fabrication and manufacturing technology. The pavilion, built in the winter of 2012, is a study on how architects can reassert control over parts of the construction process previously surrendered to manufacturers and contractors, and how this enables them to materialise discoveries from the digital into the built environment.

The Pavilion is a non-ruled, double curved, freeform structure which uses gravity as a driver for its shape and combines its geometric considerations with mechanical aspects of its fabrication and assembly. The structure starts from an equilibrium surface derived from two catenary lines that form the intersection with the ground plane. Within the constrained working space of this surface wooden shells are distributed. Their location and orientation is iteratively fine-tuned to allow for a rigid interlocking with a simple sliding joint. The shells are made from a new environmentally friendly “post-formable” plywood, which incorporates layers of adhesive film to allow easy single-curved bending without the need for steam or extreme heat. The dimensions of the shells are selected to avoid material loss: a CNC mill divides twenty-one 8x4ft plywood sheets into eight identical square panels, and accurately cuts the unique connection slots that are programmed into the pavilion geometry. Using one single mould, all panels are bent into the same single-curved shape. Within six hours these numbered shells are assembled by slotting them into place without using any plan drawings, glue or screws. The underlying equilibrium surface geometry removes all internal forces and deformations from the pavilion, which becomes a self-supporting, free-standing, light-weight skin.
 
By radically disintegrating the enclosing shell, the feature one counts on for structural stability dissolves, making the whole pleasantly risky. The simplicity of the components and the familiarity of the single material contradict with the scale and visual complexity of the project which is absent of any additional support. The resulting exhilarating confusion is complimented with caution, caused by the aggressive, animal-like exterior skin full of spikes, a design feature that followed gratis from the fabrication concept. Upon entering the space one feels a thrill from the discomfort of needing to solve the structural puzzle before feeling safe enough to absorb the twisting perspectives and the light bouncing off the rich, natural textures.
By actively working with plywood’s high structural performance, and by connecting geometry with mechanics into one single integrated system, the unlimited design freedom we experience digitally can be grounded and materialised in a sustainable way. By combining fully controllable, scripted environments, engineering-driven geometries and real-time performance evaluation tools with developments in digital fabrication, the door is opened for architects to incorporate the efficiencies, low cost and sustainability from conventional mass–production into their formally liberated digital world. In addition, the inherent aesthetic values and effects of informed computational processes open the door for a challenging new architectural design language.

KEYWORDS |Dragon Skin Pavilion; Hong Kong Shenzhen Biennale; CNC; Building Simplexity; Post-formable Plywood; Affect

DOWNLOAD |

Dragon Skin Pavilion.pdf

CITATION | Crolla, Kristof, Delagrange Sebastien, Keskisarja Emmi, and Tynkkynen Pekka. “Dragon Skin Pavilion”. In N. Gattegno, B. Price (eds.), ACADIA 2012: Synthetic Digital Ecologies: Project Catalogue of the 32nd annual conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA), San Francisco, USA, The Printing House Inc, WI, 2012