Structurally Aware Fabrication for Large-Scale, Curved Architectural Skins

This paper presents a new construction technique for large complex curved surfaces built from very low thickness sheet materials, reinforced through the structural activation of the dedicated assembly parts. The proposed technique works in several steps. 1) A large architectural curved surface is evaluated using FEA for local buckling and bending under self-weight and the assumption that it will be built from thin sheet material and without an additional structure or reinforcements. 2) The graphical representation of the principal bending moment stress field in the surface is simplified and used as the basis for the generation of a discretization pattern. 3) The discretization pattern is used to generate assembly elements (i. e., flaps) normal to the base surface. 4) The flaps are connected through a system of fins that engage them into a cellular structural system aligned both with the discretization and the stress patterns of the surface. Figure 1 presents a full-scale built prototype demonstrating the workflow.