In the 20th century, the classification of structures according to defined building typologies was central to engineering design. Here Professor Klaus Bollinger, Professor Manfred Grohmann and Oliver Tessmann of design engineers Bollinger + Grohmann challenge this preconception. By considering each structure as an individual case in point with inherently complex behaviour, they move away from the notion of a building being a variant of an established type. They further discuss this mode of working, in relation to their own recent projects, in terms of relevant methods and generative techniques, as well as the respective consequences that it has had on the relationship between force, form and structural performance. ArchiGlobe, Lakehouse Patagonia, Argentina, 2007 Different versions of the Lakehouse structure are derived by a generative digital process driven by stochastic as well as arithmetic parameters. Dominique Perrault, Undergound station roof, Piazza Garibaldi, Naples, Italy, 2007 Competiton proposal for the differentiated branching structure. Analysis of the specific load-bearing behaviour of each individual branching structure derived through the evolutionary process. Text © 2008 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Images: pp 20, 22, 23, 25(r) © Bollinger + Grohmann; p 24(tl) © Bollinger + Grohmann, ArchiGlobe; p 24(tr) © Perrault Projets/Adagp; p 24(br) © Fabian Scheurer, designproduction, Zurich; p 25(l) © Cyrille Thomas and SANAA SANAA, Learning Centre, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2008-The artificial landscape of the new Learning Centre includes patios, openings and shell-like regions.Visualisation of the distribution of tension forces within the landscape-like structure.