In April 2018, a graduation project in the field of architecture was concluded. The project entailed the design of a temporary community centre in the earthquake-damaged historic town centre of L’Aquila, Italy. The underlying social concept was focused on participation of the local population in the construction of the community centre. The design includes a grid-like timber shell structure, built-up out of a repetition of only two main structural and light-weight elements: the members and the joints.
The load-bearing structure of this architectural design formed the basis for this graduation thesis, which is aimed at its optimisation. The optimisation is carried out focused on many objectives, e.g. its weight, its environmental impact, its structural validity. The goal of this thesis can be summarised by the following research question. Given the architectural design, how can the main load-bearing structure be optimised for seismic contexts using parametric modelling, considering the following objectives: maximal demountability and structural simplicity, minimal material use, structural weight and environmental impact?
An optimisation method has been chosen combining automated and manual processes, as this gives a high sense of control to the designer. Using computational and parametric modelling techniques (Rhino, Grasshopper and Karamba), a database comprising 10 836 different structural configurations has been generated with different geometries and materials. The database contains the generated outcomes to structural and environmental analyses for each of the structural configurations. The database entries have been ranked manually based on structural, architectural and social demands, resulting in a top 28 models. Having defined a ranked set of structural configurations, manual checks and iterations can take place. The first step is checking the global and local stability using proposed joint designs as input. The next step is checking the safety of the structure during seismic events using a response spectrum analysis. As the Top-1 design passed all analyses, no iterations were deemed necessary.
In conclusion, with regard to the design, further structural optimisation could take place by reconsidering the shape of the structure. However, the process of automated database generation followed by manual exclusion, ranking and iterations give a great sense of control compared to automated optimisation alternatives. This optimisation process has proven to be very effective in finding a design that balances all objectives well.

April, 2009. A medium-powered earthquake occurs in L’Aquila, Italy, causing disproportionally heavy damage: 308 people are killed, more than 1 500 people are injured and over 65 000 people are rendered homeless. The historic town centre of L’Aquila is among the most heavily affected areas.
Nine years later, the once beautiful and lively town centre is a ghost town and its people feel forgotten. During the post-disaster recovery, they have not been heard and plans have been set out without their consent. This missing element of local participation is one of the most important factors that have caused the continuing emptiness of L’Aquila’s town centre.
The goal of this architectural thesis is to provide an alternative post-disaster approach. A temporary community centre has been designed, that will be constructed in the middle of the heavily affected town centre of L’Aquila. It is completely off-the-grid and easy-to-assemble, using modern fabrication techniques. It will remain in L’Aquila during the entire recovery period of the town centre, keeping L’Aquila lively throughout. After demounting the structure, it can be rebuilt in any other similar situation.
The community centre has a simple and flexible set-up that can be adjusted to any kind of event, and it will give the inhabitants of L’Aquila a renewed sense of pride, peace and identity. On top of that, the design will provide all parties involved with a platform for discussion, in order to sustainably redevelop the city centre. Local participation is key, both in the construction and functioning of the community centre.