An Anthology of Structural Morphology

211 Pages·2010·4.76 MB·English

by  Rene Motro

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edited by
René Motro
Université Montpellier 2, France
World Scientific
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
AN ANTHOLOGY OF STRUCTURAL MORPHOLOGY
Copyright © 2009 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means,
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Desk Editor: Tjan Kwang Wei
ISBN-13 978-981-283-720-2
ISBN-10 981-283-720-5
Printed in Singapore.
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PREFACE
Which definition could be provided for the expression “Structural
Morphology”? This interrogation was the first one when Ture Wester,
Pieter Huybers, Jean François Gabriel and I decided to submit a
proposal of working group to the executive council of the International
Association for Shells and Spatial Structures. We were discussing about
topics of high interest for us, topics related to shapes, mechanical
behaviour, geometry of polyhedra and surfaces, design, bionics…We had
no clear answer to our first question, but hopefully our proposal was
accepted by the executive council chaired by Steve Medwadowsky. Ture
Wester was the chairman of this working group until 2004, and I
accepted to “take the baton” for some years. The year after, during the
annual symposium of the association, I proposed to my colleagues to
collect some of the papers that had been published for IASS events
(symposia and seminars). Pieter Huybers suggested calling it “An
anthology of structural morphology”, and we agreed. This book gives our
practical answer to our initial interrogation: while reading the thirteen
chapters, a better understanding of “Structural Morphology” is possible.
Several aspects of this discipline, which was introduced by famous
pioneers like Leonardo da Vinci, Paxton, Graham Bell, E. Haeckel and
more recently among others R. Le Ricolais, are illustrated by the
contributions of many experts.
Next October our working group will hold its 6th international
seminar in Acapulco. This seminar will be devoted to “Morphogenesis”.
A new era is beginning with younger members and contemporary
problems. It is also my pleasure to know that members of the
International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures and its
President Professor John Abel are always interested in the works
produced by our group. This book simply aims to be a small milestone
on the road of structural morphology.
René Motro
Montpellier 27 June 2008
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CONTENTS
Preface v

1. The First 13 Years of Structural Morphology Group —
A Personal View 1
T. Wester

2. An Approach to Structural Morphology 15
R. Motro

3. The Structural Morphology of Curved Diaphragms —
Or the Structural Behaviour of Floral Polyhedra 33
T. Wester

4. Polyhedroids 49
P. Huybers

5. Novational Transformations 63
H. Nooshin, F. G. A. Albermani and P. L. Disney

6. Some Structural-Morphological Aspects of Deployable
Structures for Space Enclosures 83
A. Hanaor

7. Phantasy in Space: On Human Feeling Between the Shapes
of the World and how to Look on Natural Structures 109
M. Balz

8. An Expandable Dodecahedron 117
K. Flórián and T. Tibor

vii
viii Contents

9. Examples of Geometrical Reverse Engineering: Designing
from Models and/or under Geometrical Constraints 133
K. Linkwitz

10. Crystalline Architecture 145
A. L. Loeb

11. Flat Grids Designs Employing the Swivel Diaphragm 159
C. Rodriguez, J. Chilton and R. Wilson

12. Form-Optimizing in Biological Structures —
The Morphology of Seashells 173
E. Stach

13. Expandable “Blob” Structures 189
F. Jensen and S. Pellegrino
CHAPTER 1
THE FIRST 13 YEARS OF STRUCTURAL MORPHOLOGY
GROUP — A PERSONAL VIEW
Ture Wester
Associate Professor, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture
Inst. for Design & Communication, Philip de Langes Alle 10,
DK-1435 Copenhagen K, Denmark
[email protected]
1. The Background
In this paper I will try to tell a short story about my personal
experiences/adventures as chairman for the Structural Morphology
Group, IASS working group No 15. I will describe the events as they are
in my memory and my heart. This means that this paper is not a
complete, even not a sketchy report of the many unique activities, papers,
members, research etc. It is my own impression about the absolutely
most important part of my professional life. I will go back in time and
tell a little about why it is so: I graduated from the university at the age
of 21 as structural engineer in 1963 and soon after became a teacher in
Structural Design at the School of Architecture which had almost no
tradition in research. My professor Jørgen Nielsen however was an
exception and inspired my interest for research. After researching and
teaching for 10 years in the topic of interactive dependency of shape and
structural behaviour. These studies resulted in my discoveries of the
geometrical characteristics and the necessary equation for the rigidity of
pure structures in 3D and, most important, the concept about structural
duality. At that time I had no contact with the international scientific
world, but suddenly my “bubble burst” and thereafter everything
developed extremely fast leading to the start of the group in 1991.
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