35.9626° N, 83.9242° W | Structural Principles in Architecture | Prof. Maged Guerguis
Triangular Gridshell
Research + Design + Algorithmic Structural Analysis
Through initial research and design, digital and physical modeling and visual programming took place to create a “Triangular Gridshell” structural system. This vector active system was determined to be the proposal for re-envisioning the World’s Fair Park Amphitheater. Research on parametric design precedents that were proposals and physically built projects were all taken into account when creating a form for this gridshell design.
Through initial research and design, digital and physical modeling and visual programming took place to create a “Triangular Gridshell” structural system. This vector active system was determined to be the proposal for re-envisioning the World’s Fair Park Amphitheater. Research on parametric design precedents that were proposals and physically built projects were all taken into account when creating a form for this gridshell design.
Through the use of visual programming with Grasshopper, Kangaroo and Karamba, the form was able to take shape and be studied for the structural analysis of tensile and compressive loads acting on each structural member. In the structural diagram, one can see where the forces are being applied on the gridshell. The blue color shows tensile forces and the red color shows the compressive forces acting on each member.
Fabrication Process The fabrication process chosen for the scale model was 3D printing. The gridshell was divided into 38 individual pieces and printed for physical configuration of the form. This scale model was made to provide a tangible outcome of the gridshell form. For this particular type of structural form 3D printing was the most efficient way for creating a physical model. The 3D printing process however would have been even more efficient if dissolvable printing supports were able to be used during fabrication.
