Advances in Architectural Geometry 2014

Abstract

Architecture and geometry have always been intrinsically linked. However, their operational relationship has been dramatically strengthened by the recent advent of computational design and digital fabrication techniques. These distinct developments are reciprocally dependent, as the digital fabrication of complex architectural components induces the need for advanced geometric strategies, and in return the potentials of geometrical computing instils a need for efficiency in the production of complex forms. Although currently confined to the exclusive domain of specialists, such advanced geometric practices shall evolve to include a much larger and interdisciplinary professional group, including architects, engineers, computer scientists, and mathematicians. Their authorship in the creative development of specific computational tools may revolutionise the design process, all the way from initial conceptual form finding to its final fabrication and construction.The recent passing of Zaha Hadid led to speculation that this unexpected event could herald the decline of complex form in architecture. This conjecture may be amplified by the current accumulation of global political, social, and environmental emergencies demanding fast and pragmatic architectural solutions rather than extravagant shapes; however, this critical assumption proves to be short-sighted and simplistic. As a matter of fact, geometrical complexity remains the precondition for efficient structures in architecture, and this simple paradigm can be observed in nature, beyond time-dependent stylistic and formal discourse.Since its first edition, which was organized by Helmut Pottmann in 2008, the aim of the Advances in Architectural Geometry symposium has been to propel this research area by providing a platform for interdisciplinary debate through scientific contributions of both technical and theoretical nature. Such development of easy and elegant access to complex geometries in architecture not only demands radical progress in computational design tools and digital fabrication techniques, but primarily depends on the emergence of a novel design culture and building craft.It is a special honour for the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication to welcome the AAG community to ETH Zurich for the 2016 edition of the conference. While the workshops and the paper presentations remain the core events of the AAG symposium, the NCCR Digital Fabrication is proud of the five exceptional keynote speakers who have kindly accepted our invitation and enrich this edition with their contributions. Lord Norman Forster, who lectures together with his partner Francis Aish, represents more than half a century of persistent architectural innovation and provides a long-term perspective on the relationship between architecture and technology. Werner Sobek, whose practice operates at the interface between architecture and engineering, contributes with his expertise in lightweight constructions and his interest in performative structures. Complem...

Surfaces with planar curvature lines: Discretization, generation and application to the rationalization of curved architectural envelopes

“…The calculation of node axes from an arbitrary circular mesh can be a tedious step. (Liu and Wang 2008) suggest for example to use SVD, and show the non-existence of the node axes for some types of circular meshes. In our method, the Gauss map is calculated, so the node axes are already determined.…”