The building industry is material intensive and is responsible for approximately 40% of the total waste generated across the European Union. It operates on a ‘take-make-dispose’ model due to which key issues such as resource scarcity, waste generation, and environmental pressure occur. The circular economy has been attributed to the need to utilize waste flows more effectively, thereby reducing raw material demand. By 2050, the Dutch Government aims to transition to Circular Economy and organize the building industry in a way to ensure sustainable construction by use, reuse, maintenance and dismantling of objects. Remanufacturing is a strategy of the circular economy that supports this approach. It is a process of returning a used product to its original performance with a warranty that is equivalent to or better than that of newly manufactured product. It is an important component of resource efficient manufacturing as it reduces the dependency on virgin materials.Through research, it was observed that the principles of circular economy are well established theoretically but lack guidelines that make them applicable in practice. Therefore, the thesis focuses to find out “how” remanufacturing of building products be implemented as a strategy to accelerate the progress towards a circular built environment. The project develops a remanufacturing canvas and list of criteria through literature study of successful examples of remanufacturing such as Xerox, Caterpillar, Canon, Philips MRI Systems and Davies Office furniture. Further the proposed canvas is validated through a case study of the building De Satelliet of DNB complex to investigate their remanufacturing potential of EoL façade elements which were disassembled with an intention of giving a second life. The study includes crafting guidelines for the remanufacturing of EoL façade elements. Remanufacturing as a strategy was evaluated through assessments based on Cost, Embodied energy, and thermal performance of the façade elements. The results from the assessments were in favour of remanufacturing. However, it was concluded that while remanufacturing depicts the power of smaller loop and follows all the principles of circular economy, it is important to note that remanufacturing process shifts a large amount of responsibility from a customer to the manufacturer. There is always a risk of creating more impact than virgin production and hence decisions must be supported through results from calculations of embodied carbon and LCA.

Growing concern about resource consumption in the construction industry has brought new challenges to the design of façades. Compared to traditional techniques, AM stands out for the possibility of fabricating complex geometries embedding multiple functions. This study explored how the potentials of Fused Deposition Modelling can be used to create a multi-functional façade element for thermal insulation and structural stiffness. Physical testing and software simulations have been performed to assess the properties of complex geometries and retrieve design guidelines. A digital workflow was developed, encompassing performance-driven design, performance assessment and geometry generation for fabrication. The study highlights how, by manipulating porosity and material distribution, it is possible to design stiff, insulating envelope components which are suitable for manufacturing with FDM using polymers.

As the global population rise, climate conditions get more and more unpredictable, natural resources deplete; cities need to take action in order to sustain healthy living conditions as well as to ensure food safety. Currently, cities are solely dependent on external sources and suburban areas for natural resources and food as well as waste management. This linear metabolism results in cities consuming 60-80% of natural resources and producing 50% of waste globally. (Tsui et al., 2021) This problem can be overcome by introducing urban farming into cities by utilising waste and underused space as a resource for urban food production. Waste can be circulated in the city in order to generate a network of waste producing functions and farms. There are urban farming systems which can digest waste and produce supplements for urban food production. However, the quest of choosing an urban farming system based on existing vacant spaces and waste flows is a complicated task. The complexity is a result of variables in the equation which may effect decision making such as different systems, waste types, vacant space characteristics as well as the size of spaces and the quantity of available waste. Moreover, in sites consisting of numerous vacant spaces and waste sources decision making is even more complex and laborious. If human designers were to perform this task then they would need to iterate countless times for each vacant space, each waste source close to it and each potential urban farming systems. However, when it comes iterating and repeating the same steps, computers are explicitly faster, time-efficient and error free. Therefore a decision making tool which can assist designers to choose urban farming systems based on existing conditions can be a practical resource. This paper investigates how to integrate urban farming into cities by utilising under-used spaces and existing waste sources via using a decision making tool. The design rules and the methodology are formed based on literature review regarding different farming systems, varying waste flows and computational approaches. A prototype of the tool is generated and tested on 2 case studies in order to showcase the potential of such an approach combining food production with waste management.

Since the oil crises during the 1970s, there has been a growing awareness of thermal losses through windows in buildings. Nowadays, double-glazing is a common product for moderate maritime climate. In the Netherlands two permit requirements are calculations regarding nearly zero energy and environmental performance of a building. In order to reach nearly zero energy buildings, triple glazing and even quadruple glazing is considered as possibility. This has negative affects on the environmental performance of a building, because glass does need a lot of resources for production. A solution to that challenge could be the application of thin glass sandwiches, a structural sandwich with two ultra-thin faces (0.5mm) of glass. The structural sandwich is common in the aviation industry to stiffen and strengthen an element without adding significant weight. Downside is the increased conduction through the core material. Question is: to what extent can a thin glass sandwich panel, compared to regular insulated glass units, counterbalance its decreased thermal performance by reducing embodied energy during production? This research focusses on the material choice, quantity and distribution in the core of a sandwich panel in order to maximize thermal performance for a moderate maritime climate. In order to do so, materials from the CES library are evaluated. Detailed analytical calculations are used to determine the thermal performance regarding different patterns. FEA simulation software is used to determine the thermal performance regarding the cross-section of the actual thermal bridge between the two faces. From this research, the best solution is picked and evaluated on energy consumption, order to identify the effects on a building scale. General trends are identified and transformed into a design for a thin glass sandwich. Next to that, design guidelines are extracted for designers in order to design a thin glass sandwich without the need of calculating.

The rise in average surface temperature has intensified the need to explore new methods to address climate change. Housing sector is one of the leading contributors to the total energy consumption. As a solution, there has been a growing emphasis on the application of passive strategies in buildings that leverage local climatic conditions. Researchers have been investigating solutions to promote the use of passive design strategies. One promising approach involves integrating Phase Change Materials (PCMs) with certain building components. By possessing excellent thermal and optical properties, PCMs can be integrated into windows to enhance the thermal performance of buildings while guaranteeing light transmittance. This research specifically focuses on the integration of PCMs trombe walls in existing residential buildings in the Netherlands. Building upon the findings of previous studies, the research envisions to explore strategies that can facilitate the widespread use of PCMs. Currently, the market for PCMs primarily offers products manufactured on request, limiting their broader adoption. Through simulations conducted on virtual models, the behaviour of PCMs in trombe walls is investigated. The analysis focuses their thermal capacity and light transmittance to strike a balance between the two contrasting building requirements. Multiple room configurations are studied to investigate how the environment impacts the performance of this particular building component. Finally, the research develops a workflow and identifies trends that can facilitate the application of PCMs trombe walls across various scenarios.

The development of three-dimensional cladding in architecture has witnessed significant advancements, particularly from the computer-driven design era, which started to enable the creation of intricate and elaborate shapes. However, examining various case studies has revealed the considerable environmental impacts of the materials typically employed in three-dimensional cladding. These impacts include material extraction and production, energy consumption, waste generation - and further carbon emissions - underscoring the urgent need to address these challenges. This research aims to investigate and develop a design solution rooted in circular principles for mitigating the environmental impact of the construction industry and promoting waste-driven design. To this end, bio-based materials produced through a moulding process have been identified as promising alternatives with lower environmental footprints. The adoption of circular strategies, including modularity and flexibility, dematerialization, the use of safe and circular materials, and design for disassembly, serves as the guiding framework for enhancing sustainability in the three-dimensional cladding. As a specific design solution, the concept of seamless tiling has been developed, enabling the continuous pattern and flexible placement of modular panels within the facade while ensuring versatility. Applying parametric design techniques is instrumental in realizing the modular panel system and accentuating its adaptability by creating diverse and versatile façade configurations that exemplify the system’s adaptability and flexibility. Finally, to validate the material’s performance within the developed design, a prototype will be constructed and evaluated. This empirical testing will provide insights into the proposed design solution’s practicality, feasibility, and effectiveness, serving as a vital step towards practical implementation. This academic research contributes to the discourse on sustainable architectural practices by advocating using bio-based materials with moulding and integrating circular design strategies in the three-dimensional cladding. Through the comprehensive exploration of these approaches, the study aims to advance the understanding and realization of how three-dimensional architectural interventions can be developed with minimized impacts and, eventually, fostering a more sustainable built environment while maximizing design flexibility.

Passive measures to tackle increasing energy demands of modern buildings are aimed to generate energy from the roof or the ground beneath and by improving insulation to isolate indoors and outdoors. The author targets the opaque facade sections of a building to develop an active panel to exchange solar thermal energy with his project THERM_VENATION- Active Thermal Façade Venation. It is a project dealing with designing and fabrication of a twin-wall concrete façade panel with heat exchange tubular network embedded within it inspired by the leaf venation, which by actively exchanging fluid between the two panels conditions the indoor temperature, in the extreme composite climate of Delhi, India. This project follows a design through research methodology with computation tools, boundary conditions, material properties and the method of fabrication guiding the design and its result.

The following graduation thesis "A change of state: A thermodynamic and cost-effective optimized Trombe wall based on latent heat storage (LHS) for year round application” aims to investigate and optimize the thermal energy performance of a Phase change material (PCM) Trombe wall to create an economically feasible product. This passive system reduces the total cost of ownership of the energy system, inside an office building located in The Netherlands, by reducing the energy demand and the maximum peak-loads from the mechanical system. In the European Union (EU) buildings are responsible for almost 40% of the total energy consumption, the energy efficiency of these buildings needs to increase by at least 32,5% by 2030 according to the Sustainable development goals (SDGs) from the EU. Research has shown that the information on the economic feasibility and optimization of PCM within the built environment is somewhat limited, this research will give an in-depth insight in the actual performance on thermodynamics and the cost-effectiveness. The PCM Trombe wall will be optimized by means of the Research through design - method, using different design strategies based on the knowledge of the thermodynamic principles of the PCM. An initial simulation model is used for the energy performance calculations, this model is extended and developed according to the parameters defined for the optimization. A combination of MATLAB and Simulink, a simulation environment based on textual and graphical programming, together with modeFRONTIER is employed. The results from these simulations are first validated with DesignBuilder Software Ltd to verify the legitimacy of the results from the added components and the changed location input data. The actual performance of the PCM on the reduction of the heating and cooling energy demand, the maximum power-load and the investment cost for the product are determined according to dynamic set-point calculations. A detailed study together with an yearly performance analysis is used, the results from all the different simulations and optimizations are summarized in a design guideline. This guideline gives a clear indication on the differences between the input parameters and the results from the performance of the system. In the end, these results are all brought together in an adaptive and integrated design solution for the application in an office building in the Netherlands.

Designing energy-efficient facades can have a significant impact on reducing the building's energy consumption while providing comfort for the occupants. While highly-insulated buildings have good thermal insulation and high airtightness, they deal with the risk of overheating issues. Dynamic insulation, a technology consisting of porous materials, is a responsive building element that has been introduced to the built environment to tackle these problems. Due to the current lack of information and available resources on dynamic insulation, and its possible contribution to the built environment, the presented research focuses on the effect of complex geometries as the air channels in dynamic insulation, and as part of the overall building wall. This thesis aims to discover whether and how a designed microstructure (now possible by Additive Manufacturing) in dynamic insulation can offer a solution for controlling the airflow passing through the wall and therefore, improving the performance of the dynamic insulation. The methodology of the thesis started with the literature review and studying different articles and books. Then in a design-through-research approach, various parameters were identified that could affect the airflow rate and pattern. These parameters were categorized in two groups with relation to geometry and texture. The dominant factors were then selected to be further analyzed. Next, different geometries were generated using the 3D sampling method, based on different textures with different properties. The engineered geometries are texture-based metamaterials with cavities. To investigate the behavior of airflow in these geometries, CFD simulations were performed in Ansys Fluent. The results were evaluated based on their correspondence to the research objectives and conclusions were drawn to answer the research questions. Keywords: Texture-based metamaterials with cavities, complex geometries, dynamic insulation, porous materials, airflow behavior, responsive building elements.

The world around us is rapidly changing and evolving. In a new report by the World green structure committee, the building and development industry are liable for 38.8% of all CO2 emissions internationally, with operational outflows (from energy used to warmth, cool and light structures) representing 28%. Our designed structures depend upon many resources during the construction or operational phase. So it is clear that the design decisions we make now for our built environment have a significant impact on the future. As the population increases, the need for freshwater, electricity, and other urban resources grows exponentially. It constantly increases pressure on the urban resources and infrastructure needed to run our cities smoothly. Self-sufficient buildings can be a crucial solution to urban problems like increasing energy demands and poor air quality, which we face today. It is less dependent on active energy systems like mechanical ventilation and electricity from the grid; it is more inclined towards passive energy systems. Integrating vegetation into the built environment has proven in many instances that it increases the self-sufficiency of the users' buildings and well-being, according to R.Hassell, 2017. Nature has always provided inspiration and ideas for the field of innovation. It has always inspired newer living and green solutions for the future, environmental, economic, health, and community benefits. The integration of green vegetation into the buildings has various psychological and physiological benefits over the users To summarize, integrating green building strategies can increase the self-sufficiency index in our structures. The research has explored various computational methods used for similar contexts and related them with green building strategies to design a self-sufficient habitat. The research question mainly revolves around developing a design process that explores computational methods in green buildings and landscapes. After careful deliberation, all investigations are moving towards understanding different aspects and finding the overlaps between these two emerging fields because innovation and new ideas can be explored in that overlap. To summarize, the research question is "How to integrate green building strategies using computational methods to design self-sufficient buildings."

In building design, the structural design is usually incorporated in the latter stages of the design, and the computational tools currently available focus more on converging and optimizing a single solution rather than providing an opportunity for the designer to explore design ideas. Incorporating structural design in the initial design phases can lead to more efficient and cost-effective structures, but in order to do so practical tools should be available to the designer to deepen the design space and allow them to efficiently explore it. Generative AI models could provide a solution to the problem and expand the design space by learning from the data provided. This thesis explores such a solution by means of training an AI model (Variational Autoencoder) on an artificial dataset of 2D lattice patterns. To do that, a dataset of 6 unique 2D lattice patterns is created and used to train a simple VAE model. The methodology used in this thesis is to validate if an AI can aid in the exploration of design ideas by providing a larger design space with newly generated data that contain learned features from the dataset rather than through constraints set by the designers. The results show that the VAE model can learn features and provide a greater diversity of design than the original dataset through newly generated designs. The output of the VAE model in this thesis is then explored for possible integrations into the design process for the early stages of design. For this, the generated patterns that are distinct and unique are identified and applied to a shell structure to explore topology design ideas.

In the Dutch government attempting to become fully circular 2050, VMRG, a Dutch Metal Façade Association, has initiated several pilot projects. Two of the most prominent ones are Cirlinq, an asset management platform for documenting building facades, and FaSA (Façade Service Applicate), a collective of stakeholders aiming to use drones and image recognition technology predict the maintenance requirement of facades. There are also attempts to extend the producers' responsibility by developing new business models in collaboration with TU Delft, resulting in developing a Façade Leasing Business model. However, despite these several initiatives and the emergence of new technology to facilitate them, there was still a lack of clarity on how they can be integrated to collect, organize and use façade information to enable decision-making at its End of service. The first steps of the research involved conducting a literature review on the current state of the art in Circularity, the façade industry, and digital technology in the lifecycle of a façade. A preliminary framework was generated that conceptually maps out the information generated in the lifecycle of a façade, a data structure to store this information, and a conceptual framework for a façade product passport. Based on this preliminary framework, several hypotheses were tested and validated or refuted using surveys and interviews, which helped develop a more detailed framework. This contains detailed process maps of stakeholder roles in the supply chain of the façade, the digital methods used, and information exchanged in the process. Several criteria are identified by referring to additional literature that can influence the End of Service (EoS) scenario of a façade and are categorized and arranged into decision trees, which eventually can form a framework for a computational tool. These are then grouped into modules which, when processed together, results in a decision. The criteria were then co-related to the information currently exchanged by the stakeholders to determine what is most crucial to making a decision. During this process, it was found that most information required to make a decision is un-processable by computational methods; firstly, they are in unstructured data formats such as documents, and secondly, the necessary criteria to make a decision are subjective and still need human interpretation. Therefore, the decision-making framework can either be used to evaluate existing facades scheduled for demolition or determine the crucial information to be entered in the passport for facades that are not yet constructed. The entire framework from information capture, organization, and end-of-life decision-making is then demonstrated with information received of the CiTG Façade in the TU Delft campus as part of the Façade Leasing project TU Delft. During this evaluation, it was found that several essential information about the façade not available, and hence the façade was evaluated by assuming industry-standard processes and references to external databases such as the Granta Edu Pack. Information that is available and information generated is noted, which indicates the most crucial information required for EoS Decision making. During the EoS assessment process, while the façade can be disassembled and reused, it can be done early to design a new building, as it had fixed non-modular dimensions. Many conditions have to be considered, mainly regarding sizing, geometry, positioning, and structural system of the façade while designing the building for the CiTG façade to be reused. It was also found that recycling and energy recovery of the façade is only possible if the separation between the aluminum profiles and the thermal barrier is achieved. Although specific modules such as the condition assessment and the performance assessment could not be thoroughly carried out, a table with results of the assessments is generated and therefore acts as a starting point of how this framework can eventually be used and adapted to assess different facades. This framework can be eventually be developed in an iterative manner which can expand it to cater to multiple façade typologies and eventually forming a basis for an EoS assessment tool. All the research questions are answered at the end, acting as a summary of findings. As this research is just a starting point for further in-depth research, conclusions are made regarding recommendations to the Dutch Metal Façade industry and the following possible research stages.

This research focuses on aircraft noise exposed urban spaces around Amsterdam Schiphol airport. In particular, a case site in Rijsenhout is studied, where a representation of the noise wave propagation due to refraction is performed. Subsequently, a series of landscape configurations regarding geometry are gradually tested through acoustic simulation and noise maps are imported inside a parametric design environment. Finally, a conceptual design proposal is structured in order to explore the potential of such configurations in the urban environment.

The construction, operation and maintenance of buildings consume more than 40% of primary energy in most countries. Out of this 40%, a large portion is related to the operational phase involving heat losses through a buildings envelope. To reduce this loss, several materials have been developed to reduce the thermal transmittance through a façade, even though they carry a heavy environmental burden. Furthermore, the unregulated and rapid expansion of urban environments led to a considerable amount of problems. Among them, the urban heat island effect demands special attention as it has been responsible for an increase of the energy consumption to higher mortality rates. In part, the use of materials with high thermal admittance is responsible for these effects. Vertical green systems have shown to be a potential solution to improve, among others, the thermal demands of buildings and to mitigate the urban heat island effect. However, due to the uncertainty associated with their design process and operation, the implementation of vegetation as a construction material in an urban setting is often overlooked. Therefore, an in-depth study of their performance under different configurations and climate conditions is needed. The optimization study was based on the parametrization of a green façade and a living wall system which aimed to identify their response under variable initial conditions. A analysis of the essential parameters in the vegetation model was performed. Consequently, the leaf area index showed the highest effect, followed by the substrate thickness, leaf angle distribution, leaf surface albedo and finally by the moisture content of the substrate layer. Furthermore, a state-of-the-art computational work flow was developed through the integration of ENVI_met, Rhino/Grasshopper and modeFRONTIER, in combination with Python 3 scripting, to evaluate the performance of vertical greenery systems. The evaluation focused on the heat transmission through the façade of a single building, in comparison to a reference model. The work flow allowed the study of the impact of each parameter in the behavior of the system and led to the development of several design guidelines. The optimized result was tested in an urban setting to evaluate its potential as a mitigation strategy for the urban heat island effect. The largest reduction in thermal transmission took place in equatorial, fully humid climate due to the low vapor pressure deficit; while the lowest in a temperate climate during winter conditions, suggesting the lower efficiency of the systems under cold weather. Furthermore, living wall systems have a significantly higher performance in comparison to green façades. On the other hand, the latent heat release associated with the evapotranspiration process has a strong correlation with the leaf area index, given the simultaneous action of the aerodynamic and bulk surface resistance. The optimized configuration of the vegetation was then derived based partly on this correlation. Moreover, the leaf angle distribution displayed a high correlation with the solar zenith angle and the leaf surface albedo with the intensity of the solar radiation and the ambient temperature. Additionally, among the substrate properties, the substrate thickness indicated a large potential in reducing heat transmission. The effects of vertical green systems in an urban setting suggested an improvement of the environmental conditions. While the leaf area index is directly related to the decrease of wind speed and evaporative cooling, the leaf surface albedo influenced the amount of reflected shortwave radiation in a façade. Furthermore, the highest cooling potential was observed in desert climates as a result of the high vapor pressure deficit with temperature drops of up to 0.25 C. The outcome of this research indicates that an optimized vertical greenery system is a suitable replacement for artificial insulating materials as a passive alternative to reduce energy demands in buildings. Indicating a decrease in heat transmission from 8% to 50% of the original heat flux. Furthermore, the findings of the urban study suggests that a decrease in the ambient temperature and an overall reduction of the negative impacts related to the urban heat island effect is possible.

Timber and complex designs are making a move in the building industry, as the building industry is on the brink of a significant change toward a 100% customized, more sustainable architecture. Robotic fabrication and Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) can play an important role in this change, but there is a lot of uncertainty and ignorance about the design process of robotically fabricated CLT elements. This uncertainty is primarily caused by the application of linear workflows instead of integral ones. Within the fields of robotic fabrication and CLT, the research narrows down to the robotic milling process of CLT connection panels. Therefore, this research intends to answer the following question by means of four different parts: What does an integral workflow for robotically fabricated customized CLT connection panels look like, that promote exploration of the structural performance of CLT structures in the preliminary design phase? Part I Literature Study Part II Pilot Study Part III Integral Workflow Development Part IV Discussions The Literature Study focusses on two fields, namely the field of CLT and the field of robotic fabrication. In the final chapter of this part, the mutual affordances and constraints of these fields are discussed as these significantly influence the design space of the integral workflow. The second part concerns the production of a small mock-up to explore the process of robotic fabrication. The literature and pilot study together serve as input for the development of the integral workflow in the third part of the research. This workflow is developed in the parametric environment of Grasshopper and is divided in three modules: Global Structure, Joint Design, Robotic Fabrication. For the Joint Design, focus is laid on CLT connection panels of which the principle is derived from a reference project in Alblasserdam (NL). The main conclusions on the research question consist of the relationships and (in)dependencies between the different modules. Another important conclusion is that one cannot apply CLT in the outdoor environment without applying shedding to ensure complete moisture control. To increase the integrality of the workflow as developed in this research, more feedback loops across the three modules should be integrated. For instance, the affordances and constraints of the robotic fabrication process should be integrated within the relationships between the three modules. Hence, if doing so, this information was available in an early stage of the design process and would decrease the uncertainty of it. This implementation could be investigated by producing a mock-up study along the integral workflow.

This paper presents the development of a feasibility analysis tool for the Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry called StructuralComponents 5.0. It is the fifth paper in a series of developments starting with Breider (2008), which discussed modelling and analysing 2D tall buildings with an emphasis on quick generation and simple evaluation of designs. This paper expands the concept of bridging the gap between architectural modelling and structural engineering analysis tools used in the conceptual design process, by focusing on mid-rise buildings with three main characteristics. First, it implements a flexible modelling process to support architectural creativity during the conceptual design phase. The conceptual model is composed of building blocks that can be combined and parametrically adjusted to form a whole structure. Second, it helps the users understand the structural behaviour by visualising the force flow in near real-time. Instead of the conventional finite element method, the behaviour results of individual and combined building blocks (super elements) is computed using a symbolic differential equation method. Third, it includes feasibility checks and visualises them for both disciplines to improve understanding and encourage collaboration during the decision making process.

In an urban context that needs to be constantly adapted to global crises, population movements, climate change and economic crises, designers and engineers strive to configure solutions that respond to multiple criteria. Within this framework, the concept of generative design is gaining more and more ground in the construction field, allowing rapid design space exploration, optimization and decision making for complex design problems. This thesis implements an experiment in a common design problem such as optimizing the topology of shell structures for structural performance, using an Artificial Intelligence Framework. To implement this experiment a novel dataset consisting of various mesh tessellations is created. The next step is to design a generative workflow that combines unsupervised and supervised learning along with a Gradient Descent Algorithm for pattern generation, structural performance estimation and optimization. A Variational Autoencoder is trained to generate new mesh tessellations and a Surrogate Model is used to predict the structural performance of the decoded designs. Finally, a Gradient Descent Algorithm searches the latent space of the Variational Autoencoder for optimum solutions. The results show that the proposed Artificial Intelligence workflow is able to generate novel and structurally better performing solutions that those existing in the training dataset. The findings of this thesis indicate that Artificial Intelligence can be successfully integrated into the concept of Generative Design to optimize shell structures.

This thesis aims to provide a better understanding on the relationship between the mechanical and geometrical properties of shell structures. In search hereof, an attempt is made to describe the thrust surface; a geometrical representation of the in-plane force trajectories through a structure. There exists a well-known relation between the parabolic shape of a (two-dimensional) catenary and the moment line of a simply-supported beam subjected to a distributed load, a relation which is similar to the three-dimensional case of shell structures. In this thesis, this relation is further exploited in the creation of various shell structures, using the moment hill of various simple plate cases. The moment hills of twistless plates as shell structures pose promising results with respect to shell-like behaviour. In the process of generating shell structures from moment hills of twistless plates, establishing the correct boundary conditions has proven to be essential in obtaining shell geometry with maximum shell-like behaviour. The Airy stress function is utilised to get further insight into the mechanical behaviour of shells. Exploiting the reciprocal relation between this Airy stress function and the diagram of forces allowed for both the design and analysis of shells. Taking the reciprocal figure of a discretised version of the Airy stress function results in a force polyhedron which by nature is in equilibrium. It was proven that the rules of graphic statics apply here, the angular defect between two planes then act as force vectors. By means of the force polyhedron a distinction can be made between tensile and compressive forces through any structure. Calculating the angular defect in an edge of the Airy stress polyhedron results in the force through its corresponding edge in its reciprocal figure. This thesis proposes multiple parametric tools with which the reciprocal figure of any Airy stress function can be created. These tools provide insight in the structural behaviour of a shell structure, and aid in the design of shells in the preliminary design stage.

Plant factory with artificial light PFAL is an advanced facility has been developing through many research based on experimental field work in greenhouses as fully insulated and the airtight production facility. PFAL is one form of “closed plant production system” (CPPS) unit. It is a system where the growing environment optimally controlled and therefore, can provide various type of crops in different climatic conditions at a higher production level.The standard PFAL only use artificial lighting to provide the plant with the light required for photosynthesis needed for growth. The research by design intends to fill the gap between the architecture, agriculture and environmental studies and to reproduce the PFAL in a Hybrid lighting system to benefit from solar light and in combination with an hydroponic farming technique .

Cast glass is a promising structural material that has seen increasing use in the build environment over the last year. It offers a great freedom of shape for designers and engineers, beyond the two-dimensional float glass that is still primarily used. Despite this, cast glass in practice has only been used for solid bricks, mimicking traditional ceramic brickwork. Little exploration has been made on the complex shapes that can be achieved in cast glass. One of the largest challenges of cast glass is its slow and meticulous cooling process required after casting, to prevent the occurrence of internal stresses. This costly annealing process is the main limitations for producing large scale cast glass elements in an affordable way. Experience in large scale solid glass mirror castings performed for NASA show that annealing times can be reduced through smart design. Structural topology optimisation is a design tool for creating light-weight, material efficient elements. Its application has mostly been limited to industrial and aerospace design, though it is slowly being introduced in the built environment as the additive manufacturing required for these geometries becomes more advanced, and affordable. So far, topology optimisation of cast glass design has remained unexplored. The goal of this thesis is to investigate the potential of using topology optimisation as a design tool for complex structural cast-glass elements with a reduced annealing time. For this, a complex-shaped grid shell has been redesigned in glass, using optimised cast glass nodes. The entire fabrication process, from digital design, to physical fabrication using additive manufacturing has been explored.