Fibrous Structures Workshop

This is a 3-day workshop organized by Δe_Λab in collaboration with Basics (Spain), and aims to introduce participants to the design of lightweight fibrous structures.

The proposed approach is based on the concurrent and reciprocal integration of structural analysis, and the constraints of materials and manual filament winding within a coherent computational design process. A particular focus is set on the development of specific tools and solvers for the generation, simulation and optimization of the fibre layout and their feedback into the global morphology of the system through the use of Kangaroo and Karamba 3D.

Kangaroo is a plugin that allows us to simulate natural phenomena (gravity, springs, etc.) based on form finding techniques. An important part of architecture is the design of lightweight and durable structures, such as cable nets and fabric canopies. They approximate minimal surfaces optimaly. Natural laws could be used to create forms that are somehow optimal, interesting and useful.

Karamba 3D is a parametric structural engineering tool that provides accurate analysis of spatial beams, frames and shells. It is a handy plugin adapted to the needs of architects and engineers for the initial design phase. Karamba's simulation techniques provide a number of useful strategies for predicting the performance of an object in the physical world and to better understand the behaviour of experimental structures.

Throughout the workshop the participant will have the opportunity to translate the digital models into the physical space. At the end of the workshop the students will produce one structure per group of two.