Throughout history, people have constructed simple timber lattice shelters such as the tepee or yurt, covered with animal skins, leaves, grasses and woven fabrics. Over the last fifty years, more sophisticated ‘webs of wood’ have emerged, with timber gridshells in particular becoming a structurally expressive form of architecture. Recent developments in digital design, 3-D modelling software, timber fabrication technologies as well as trends towards low-carbon construction have further reinforced architects’ interest in the use of lightweight timber grids and lattice structures. This timely book charts the origin and evolution of the timber gridshell and its relation to timber lattice architecture. Drawing on a range of international case studies, the authors trace the effect advances in technology have had on design and construction in this field, providing a clear understanding of the structure, morphology, design process, and construction technology, and examining both the application and constraints of timber gridshells in architectural design. Timber Gridshells is a highly illustrated, up-to-date resource which provides detailed answers and inspires new ideas. As such, it is essential reading for students of architecture as well as professional architects.

Throughout history, people have constructed simple timber lattice shelters such as the tepee or yurt, covered with animal skins, leaves, grasses and woven fabrics. Over the last fifty years, more sophisticated ‘webs of wood’ have emerged, with timber gridshells in particular becoming a structurally expressive form of architecture. Recent developments in digital design, 3-D modelling software, timber fabrication technologies as well as trends towards low-carbon construction have further reinforced architects’ interest in the use of lightweight timber grids and lattice structures. This timely book charts the origin and evolution of the timber gridshell and its relation to timber lattice architecture. Drawing on a range of international case studies, the authors trace the effect advances in technology have had on design and construction in this field, providing a clear understanding of the structure, morphology, design process, and construction technology, and examining both the application and constraints of timber gridshells in architectural design. Timber Gridshells is a highly illustrated, up-to-date resource which provides detailed answers and inspires new ideas. As such, it is essential reading for students of architecture as well as professional architects.

This book explores various digital representation strategies that could change the future of wooden architectures by blending tradition and innovation. Composed of 61 chapters, written by 153 authors hailing from 5 continents, 24 countries and 69 research centers, it addresses advanced digital modeling, with a particular focus on solutions involving generative models and dynamic value, inherent to the relation between knowing how to draw and how to build. Thanks to the potential of computing, areas like parametric design and digital manufacturing are opening exciting new avenues for the future of construction. The book’s chapters are divided into five sections that connect digital wood design to integrated approaches and generative design; to model synthesis and morphological comprehension; to lessons learned from nature and material explorations; to constructive wisdom and implementation-related challenges; and to parametric transfigurations and morphological optimizations.

This new resource covers the material selection, structural design and connections detailing of truly sustainable timber buildings through: consideration of the nature of wood and the heritage of timber construction, including the importance of forestry and conservation a review of modern techniques to improve the durability, fire resistance and predictability of structural timber elements and their vital connections analysis of the many architectural and structural options, from roundwood shells through glulam arches and gridshells to long span hybrid structures case studies from around the world illustrating the principles discussed and the true potential of timber construction Historically there has been an imbalance between the availability of information on structural timber design and the much more widespread familiarity with traditional structural materials such as steel and concrete. This book aims to help redress the balance by presenting the essential design principles involved in the creation of elegant, user-friendly timber buildings that are practical, economic, and thoroughly sustainable. Designed to support specialist study into the benefits of 21st Century timber engineering, this book also offers architects, engineers and other construction professionals practical advice on all aspects of modern timber architecture.

Although the disciplines of architecture and structural engineering have both experienced their own historical development, their interaction has resulted in many fascinating and delightful structures. To take this interaction to a higher level, there is a need to stimulate the inventive and creative design of architectural structures and to persuade architects and structural engineers to further collaborate in this process, exploiting together new concepts, applications and challenges. This set of book of abstracts and full paper searchable CD-ROM presents selected papers presented at the 3rd International Conference on Structures and Architecture Conference (ICSA2016), organized by the School of Architecture of the University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal (July 2016), to promote the synergy in the collaboration between the disciplines of architecture and structural engineering.

This book contains 34 technical papers presented at the Advances in Architectural Geometry Conference held in Stuttgart 2023. Modern geometric computing increasingly plays a role in modeling environments and processing sensing information, providing a variety of tools for the efficient design, analysis, and manufacturing of complex shapes. The research area of architectural geometry (AG) has emerged at the common border of architecture, applied geometry, computational design, mathematics, and manufacturing. This book presents the state of the art of research in AG.

This highly illustrated text brings together two areas which have both grown in popularity in recent years: gridshells and bamboo. Bamboo is a fast-growing, naturally available, renewable resource which is quite strong and lends itself to structural applications. In this unique text, David Rockwood demonstrates the viability of bamboo as a building material and considers the advantages – as well as the challenges – of working with bamboo. Its properties, workability, connections, assembly, erection processes, structural behavior, and final use are explored in detail through a series of design-build experiments and case studies from Hawai’i and Vietnam. The only book available on the subject, Bamboo Gridshells provides a comprehensive introduction to this emerging technology which will be of interest to anyone working in the areas of sustainable or environmental design, ecological construction, low technology strategies, or alternative materials.