Integrated computational approach for the generation and preliminary structural analysis of woven structures during the early design stage

Abstract

The role of the architect as a “master builder”, or someone who possessed a deep knowledge about the materials and ways to use them, has recently disappeared in favour of technical specialisation. The distancing of the architect from the actual construction site coincides with the emergence of digital design environments that provide seemingly abundant design choices yet draw the attention away from the fabricability of them. Often, matter is considered as a homogeneous element that “receives” the form. However, in case of structures such as the woven ones, the material nature of which constitutes their most unique characteristic and dictates their form up to a large extent, the integration of materiality as an active agent in the design process is imperative.

This study explores this new relationship between form, materiality and structural performance through the proposal of a theoretical framework and an original digital tool, SpaceWeave, developed in Grasshopper for Rhino in collaboration with the Karamba plug-in for structural analysis. SpaceWeave aims to facilitate the generation, modelling and preliminary structural analysis of woven structures during the early design phase. The role of material properties in a design workflow, the advantages and limitations of designing and structurally analysing in a parametric setting, as well as the correlation between weave parameters and structural behaviour of the resulting structures are discussed.