In Fall 2017, we experienced how the River Seine is central to the enjoyment of the capital of France, Paris. In an earlier post, we interviewed the French bridge designer Marc Mimram about his design philosophy and he showed us the elegant design of the Passerelle Solférino. However no less than 37 bridges straddle the water of the Seine and provide a link between the … Continue reading Paris, City of Bridges, a tour.
Recently the American Shell Builder Jack Christiansen (1937-2017) passed away. With many other shell builders ( like Luigi Nervi (1891–1979), Eduardo Torroja (1899–1961), Anton Tedesko (1904–1994), Félix Candela (1910–1997) and Heinz Isler (1926–2009)), a large body of knowledge about the design and analysis of shells has disappeared. Furthermore, a recent study of current US academic curricula showed that few US Civil Engineering Departments offer courses … Continue reading How can we learn about shells and membranes?
Last week I had the pleasure of recording a MOOC Lecture with Prof. Garlock on Contemporary Vaults. This MOOC lecture will be offered in Spring 2018 and I will provide you the details in due time. Much to my excitement we got to spend more than 12 hours underneath the steel/glass cupola of the Dutch Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. When I worked for … Continue reading Structures in the low countries: Cupola over the Dutch Maritime Museum
This Blow-up Bulwark article was originally published on November 2, 2017 on Urban Omnibus We associate inflatable structures with ludic landscapes like the bounce castle and hippie hangout. Impractical techno-utopias all. But for engineer Sigrid Adriaenssens and her Form Finding Lab, inflatables could offer a very practical response to the growing threat of storm surge flooding and the uncertainty of climate change. More air bag than … Continue reading As Hurricane Dorian made landfall, we are working on inflatable barriers that could protect coastal cities from storm surges in the future.
While We Wait is a meditative installation by Bethlehem-based architects Elias & Yousef Anastas about the cultural claim over nature in Palestine. Yousef is a Form Finding Lab alumnus. The towering structure consists of small elements of stone from different regions of Palestine, fading upwards from earthy red to pale limestone. The stone elements are shaped by both revolutionary and traditional techniques: they are designed on … Continue reading While We Wait: how stereotomy enables meditation
Form Finding Lab 