STUDENT FEATURE
South Elevation
POST-DIGITAL TIMBER ARCHITECTURE: EXPANDING CATENARY STRUCTURE
In today’s post-digital architectural era, the focus is shifting towards novel materialisation strategies for buildings using
computational and digital means. With the introduction of computer-aided design system and digital fabrication machinery, the difficulty of fabricating non-standard architecture has been overcome. Although CNC fabrication technologies exist, many construction contexts may not have easy access to such technologies. However, digital design tools can still provide new solutions for local construction in those contexts when traditional manufacturing constraints are absorbed in the design of the encoded aspects of design and production system.
This thesis project studies new methods for traditional glue- laminated timber construction with the aim to practically integrate them into hyper light-weight structural systems. It explores the opportunities of non-standard timber architecture design that are broadened by the use of digital
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design tools, minimising both design and construction complexity. By reducing fabrication difficulties, non-standard, high-performance sustainable timber architectural design is promoted in the project. Evolutionary optimisation algorithms allow for non-linear design optimisation for both structural and material performance.
In previous decades, hyper light-weight architectural
forms were typically designed through elaborate analogue performance simulation models and complex mathematical calculations. Today, the design of hyper light-weight architectural systems is substantially simplified with the introduction of digital design and simulation tools. This project focuses on one type of the hyper light-weight systems: catenary timber structures – a structural suspension system in which the form is generated by the weight of the structure itself, forming a tension-only system in which every part of the form
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