Philosophy of Structure s Arch 526 Pieter Sijpkes

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. 3 D Modeling in the fashion industry where flexibility of 3 d 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=kk. Bax. Fu h 40 E • http: //bacweb. org/journal/2014_02/nib 2. 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

• • • • • • 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