Parametric Creative Design of Building Free-Forms Roofed with Transformed Shells Introducing Architect’s and Civil Engineer’s Responsible Artistic Concepts

Abstract

The article concerns a parametric description of unconventional building forms roofed with folded sheeting transformed elastically into shells. The description supports the designer in the search for attractive forms and a rational use of materials. The adoption of strictly defined sets of initial parameters determines the diversification of the designed architectural free-forms. An impact of selected proportions between these parameters on these forms is illustrated by an example of a single structure. Folded elevations and a segmented shell roof make each such structure internally coherent and externally sensitive. The mutual position and proportions of the shape of all elements, such as the roof, eaves, and façades, along with regular patterns in the same structure, determine this consistency of its form and sensitivity to harmonious incorporation into the natural or built environments. The study is a new insight into shaping free-forms of buildings in which the modern and ecological materials determine the important shape and mechanical limitations of these forms. With a skillful approach, the materials allow their extensive use in buildings. However, various interdisciplinary problems related to architectural shaping of free-forms and static and strength work thin-walled shell sheeting roofs must be solved. For effective design it is necessary to use relevant software applications, where spatial reasoning is crucial for ordering the three-dimensional space by means of simplified engineering models.

Folded Sheets as a Universal Material for Shaping Transformed Shell Roofs

“…Prokopska proposed various ways to increase the attractiveness of the ribbed shell structures. These are as follows: (1) areas of discontinuity between the adjacent steel segments, filled with, for example, glass panels (Figure 11); (2) green plant gardens placed on the transformed segments; and (3) communication routes between the segments [28]. To create attractive regular complex structures composed of many complete roof shells, he developed a geometric method [26] of creating a spatial polyhedral reference net arranged on various regular smooth surfaces of positive, negative or zero Gaussian curvature.…”