Contemporary free-form pavilions with the Delaunay gridshell patterns

Department of Structure Design, Construction and Technical Infrastructure, Faculty of Architecture, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland

^* Corresponding author: anna.stefanska2@pw.edu.pl

Abstract

The design of unique gridshell forms has become a key factor in effective interdisciplinary designing solutions, both architecturally aesthetic and structurally efficient. Modern bionic tendencies allow designers to implement organic shapes through proportion and mimicking the biological, developmental process by understanding the logic of the structural forms occurring in Nature. The improvement of digital tools based on algorithmic codes has enabled architects to implement their bold designs based on Nature’s technologies’ logic. The purpose of the research was to identify how the mathematical algorithms found in Nature collaborate with parametric designing influence structural optimization of the free-form structures. The Delaunay divisions used in the gridshells form-finding were obtained through various generative modeling algorithms. The case studies demonstrate how mathematical algorithms, such as structural dynamic relaxation, can support architectural aesthetic and structural optimization processes. The paper concludes that proper generative algorithmic design can compromise design diversity and search for efficiency.