WS2

Learning Objectives

Participants will be introduced to gridshellls, lightweight structures that achieve strength through curvature, and will explore how breaking material continuity using discrete, reusable elements can expand the design space. This shift allows for greater geometric freedom and more precise control over shape and deformation. Through physical prototyping and collaborative construction, participants will investigate how local geometry influences global behavior and how joint design impacts deployability and structural stability. By the end of the workshop, students will gain hands-on experience in designing and assembling adaptable systems that challenge conventional approaches based on material continuity.

Workshop description

This workshop explores the design of elastic gridshells composed of short, discrete, and reusable beams that are designed to intentionally break material continuity. Traditionally, elastic gridshells are constructed from regular lattices of continuous beams, often modeled geometrically as Chebyshev nets, forming orthogonal or nearly orthogonal quadrilateral meshes constrained by inextensible but bendable members. While these configurations ensure material continuity and offer structural advantages, they also impose strict geometric constraints. In particular, continuous beams must follow geodesic trajectories limiting the range of geometric and mechanical configurations possible. Our working assumption is that relaxing these constraints enables designers to have a greater influence over the deformation, deployment, and structural behavior of the gridshell, thereby allowing for more expressive and adaptable surface configurations.

In this context, this workshop introduces a novel design approach for elastic gridshells in which material continuity is intentionally broken by replacing continuous beams with short, repetitive elements. The resulting structures form networks where four or more short beams converge at rotational joints, diverging from a conventional 1-degree-of-freedom (DOF) mechanism. This strategy enables greater freedom in defining the lattice structure, allowing for irregular node valencies and local control over beam directionality, unlike the uniform and often isotropic nature of traditional elastic gridshells. 

Participants will investigate the geometric and topological principles underlying these discrete gridshells, along with critical questions of deployability, reinforcement, and reconfiguration. The workshop is structured over two days. On the first day, participants will engage in small-scale explorations of geometry and material behavior, testing how discrete elements deform and assemble. These explorations will focus on understanding local curvature, joint behavior, and global effects through physical prototyping. On the second day, participants will collectively design and build a larger gridshell structure. The workshop combines computational modeling and hands-on experimentation to explore how discontinuity can become a driver of both form and performance.

Participant Prerequisites

It would be beneficial if participants have a basic understanding of bending-active structures, though prior experience is not mandatory. Familiarity with Rhino and Grasshopper is recommended, as these tools will be used for digital modeling and design exploration.