Computational Strategies for the Architectural Design of Bending Active Structures

Active bending introduces a new level of integration into the
design of architectural structures, and opens up new complexities for the
architectural design process. In particular, the introduction of material
variation reconfigures the design space. Through the precise specification of
their stiffness, it is possible to control and pre-calibrate the bending behaviour
of a composite element. This material capacity challenges architecture’s
existing methods for design, specification and prediction. In this paper, we
demonstrate how architects might connect the designed nature of composites
with the design of bending-active structures, through computational strategies.
We
report three built structures that develop architecturally oriented design
methods for bending-active systems using composite materials. These projects
demonstrate the application and limits of the introduction of advanced
engineering simulation into an architectural workflow, and the extension of
architecture’s existing physics-based approaches.