Form-finding of branching structures supporting freeform architectural surfaces

Abstract

‘Form-finding of branching structures supporting freeform architectural surfaces’ is the graduation thesis of the master track Building Technology at the University of Technology in Delft. This thesis is made by Alex kouwenhoven in the time-span of three-quarter of a year and tutored by Andrew Borgart and Ate Snijder.

With the increasing complexability of the built environment, the challenges for both the architect and the engineer are becoming bigger. Architects tend to make new shapes or free-forms and the engineers are challenged to make it buildable. A shape often used as a support of this free-form architecture is the tree-like column or branching column. A structure branching out and redirecting forces from a big roof surface to one single point.

However, the design of these complex columns is often done by the computer and optimizing software. There is a missing link in the field of structural mechanics and these types of columns, the knowledge of forces flowing through these complex three-dimensional structures.

In this thesis, a method of designing these complex structures is proposed. By an analytical approach, an efficient structural column can be made and multiple optimization strategies are proposed. Following these strategies, a design can be made. In the final chapters of the thesis, an example of a design is made using this strategy.