Smart Structures in Architectural Projects: Towards an interactive design framework combining multiscalar structural optimisation and custom-optimized structural nodes for generative design

Abstract

Interactive mass customisation is changing practice in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Future workflows in software systems could address human-in-the-loop technology to augment human creative capacities. Early design stages require quick and well-informed decisions in response to data available from building information modelling technology. Architectural de-sign has been transformed by the in-troduction of design software but until recently the actual design has continued to be performed by the architect. That has begun to change with the exploration of interactive design frame works. Optimizing structures on multiple scales effects both, the overall structure in dependence of the architectural geometry and the local expression of 3D printed structural nodes. The reported research explored an algo-rithm to close geometric gaps in generative design of structural components. This foam-like algorithm allowed the artist and architect to design New Structuralism style using a combination of different optimisation routines. As a result, the SPUME algorithm was investigated to inte-grate several geometric parts in an organic shape for design of custom-optimized structural nodes. As part of the case study, a pavilion with a tessellated structure and 3D printed custom-optimized structural nodes was designed by an artist and an architect to showcase the application potential of the conceptualized framework. Finally, a prototype for connecting brackets and BESO optimized shape of the structural nodes was produced to combine all aspects of the local node geometry in the tectonic representation.