Structural Stone Surfaces: New Compression Shells Inspired by the Past

Much of our architectural heritage today is built out of unreinforced masonry. It is often unclear why historic masonry structures still stand when conventional analysis tools have predicted their failure. In order to ensure the safety of these existing structures, there is an acute need for innovative tools that can accurately analyse their stability. Associate Professor Philippe Block, Tom Van Mele and Matthias Rippmann of the Block Research Group, part of the Institute of Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich demonstrate how computational form-finding methods and design tools for masonry structures that stand in pure compression, such as arches and vaults, make it possible to design expressive and efficient surface structures that can be built with very little or low-quality material. By studying the techniques of medieval master builders, the Block Research Group has also developed new ways of building with masonry, enhanced by current construction and fabrication technologies. These new tools and reinvented construction methods can be applied in different contexts: for instance, by studying the structure of Gothic cathedrals, they manage to dramatically reduce the use of materials in office construction.     

Gramazio Kohler Research,Automated Diversity: New Morphologies of Vertical Urbanism

Automated fabrication techniques are currently largely confined to the production of discrete objects or building elements. To notch up the potential of robotics for architectural design, it is necessary to start to push the limits and experiment at a larger urban scale. Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler are pioneers in this field. Here, with Jan Willmann , they describe the research that they are undertaking as part of the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) located at the Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC) and ETH Zurich, in which robotic fabrication technologies are employed to realize 1:50 physical models of mixed-use high-rise structures that are unique in their spatial layouts.     

Computation or Revolution

The connection between technology and society today remains as compelling as in Le Corbusier's time, with views from social commentators, scientists and economists habitually polarising around the adverse or positive impact of technological change. Tracing the roots of computation and robotics back to the Second World War, Philippe Morel of EZCT Architecture & Design Research redefines the position of artificial intelligence, robots and computation in architecture, highlighting the potential of computers to perform precise calculations – and outperform human intelligence in almost every way.     

块体单元法动力分析研究

将块体单元法引入结构动力分析,同时给出动力分析的块体单元法中质量矩阵和阻尼矩阵的具体表达式,建立块体系统在惯性力、阻尼力、动力荷载及弹性力作用下的动力平衡方程。最后分析2个算例,通过将块体单元法与其他方法计算结果进行对比,验证块体单元法动力分析的准确性和合理性。块体单元法对于岩体中含大量不连续面的复杂结构在前处理工作上有较大的优越性,因此可广泛应用于水工及岩土工程结构动力及地震作用下的变形与稳定性分析。     

Encoding Material

Gramazio & Kohler's work in the faculty of Architecture and Digital Fabrication at ETH Zurich is renowned for its pioneering work with industrial robots. Here, Fabio Gramazio, Matthias Kohler and Silvan Oesterle describe how the integration of fabrication-relevant decisions into encoded designs enables the control of complex interactions between material elements and facilitates the direct generation of machine data, as epitomised by their West Fest Pavilion project. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

霍恩布尔公寓项目--一次设计试验

文章简要分析了位于苏黎世市中心的一处独立式住宅的设计。建筑师通过节日盛装式的表皮处理,营造了一个外表不断变化的建筑,在狭小的地块条件下获得华丽而独特的视觉效果。     

Material,Form and Force

Conventionally, material in architecture has been treated as the ‘servant’ of form. An iterative design process, though, that continuously integrates material, form and force has the potential to unfold a new generative logic of form-finding. This offers ways of processing the flow of forces through a material object and balancing variations of form with the organisation and behaviour of material. Toni Kotnik and Michael Weinstock present a series of experimental construction projects, developed within the Emergent Technologies and Design (EmTech) programme at the Architectural Association (AA) in London, that explore the intricate relationship between material, form and force. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Les dépôts morainiques holocènes de la zone axiale pyrénéenne: approche déterministe de leur instabilitéà Verdun sur Ariège, (Pyrénées centrales, France)

This paper reports a study of the historic instability of the till deposits in an area of the central Pyrenees between France and Spain upslope of the town of Verdun. The object of the work was to create a model based on the geomorphological and geological mapping of landslides and a geotechnical survey of the instability of the whole of the mountainous slopes of the Domanial Verdun area. The detailed mapping allows the historic landslides to be distinguished from the more recent/active movements which involve volumes of 100,000 to 400,000?m³ of material. In addition, it was possible to assess the areal percentage of the actively slipping zones (5%) compared to the historic slide zones (12%) and the stable areas (78%). Following the European classification, two types of slides were identified in the Verdun study area: (1) historic rotational slides and (2) active translational slides located in the Verdun area at between 1000 and 1250?m altitude. The stability was calculated using the classic "method of slices", subdividing the slipped zone into vertical slices along a suitable cross section. The so-called factor of safety (F) was determined by dividing the moments of resisting forces (M_R) by the moments of driving forces (M_D). The state of limiting equilibrium has a "factor of safety" of 1. The physical parameters of the till deposits of Verdun were established as: unit weight γ=24.9?kN/m³ (calculated using the percentage of gneissic blocks contained in the tills) and porosity n=0.24. The results of 15 triaxial tests in a gravelly sand matrix were plotted in a Lambe diagram following a linear regression model [x=(σ₁+σ₃)/2 and y=(σ₁–σ₃)/2 with sin?φ′ =tan?θ]. From this the friction angle φ′=33°±3 and c′=45±5?kPa were established. The factor of safety calculated for the moraine deposits in the historic slides was 1.44 without water (Hw=0). With a height of water of 7?m, representing 85% of the till thickness, this was reduced to F=1. To achieve a factor of safety of 1.3, the maximum water level within the till should not exceed 2.5?m, representing 65% of the till thickness. Similarly, the factor of safety was calculated for the active slides of another area (shown as section 4 in Fig.?3 in the paper). Using slice number 9 from the middle of the slide, the factor of safety was 1.08 when the height of the water was taken as 90% of the till thickness. This high calculated factor of safety for the height of water is consistent with the slow movement of the actual slides. However, a lower internal cohesion of the till deposits or the presence of a weathered zone would decrease the factor of safety from 1 to 0.8. It is also possible that other parameters, such as the regional seismic activity, could have been sufficient to initiate movement (F<1) during the last 50?years. It is of note that the map of seismic activity shows that more than a 100 earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 3 have occurred in the central Pyrenees since 1660. The paper emphasises the importance of high-quality mapping which identifies and classifies areas of historic and recent instability. From this, a single geotechnical model to calculate the stability can be established. The level of the water is shown to be the critical parameter and of more significance than the variations in the effective friction angle, which itself is more important than variations in the effective cohesion. With this information it is possible to determine those areas where some form of stabilisation and/or drainage of the till deposits is necessary.     

Essais systématiques de validation de formulations de sable sénégalais pour l'élaboration d'un sable normalisé

Résumé. Au Sénégal, pays en voie de développement, le sable normalisé employé pour la détermination des classes de résistance des ciments est importé. Un inventaire des ressources locales en sable a été conduit pour rechercher un produit de substitution au sable de Leucate. La première phase de l'étude a permis sur la base d'essais d'orientation, de mettre au point un mélange ternaire composé de deux sables roulés et d'un sable de concassage qui remplit les critères requis pour un "sable normalisé CEN". Dans la deuxième phase de l'étude, des essais systématiques croisés ont été menés à Rennes et à Dakar, ils confirment les résultats des essais d'orientation et les valident d'un point de vue statistique. Electronic Publication     

Meteorological Architecture

Philippe Rahm hails the emergence of a new meteorological architecture, in which the invisible takes precedence over the visible, and the atmospheric, conduction of heat, perspiration and shifting weather and climate conditions are foregrounded. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crafting Space: Generative Processes of Architectural Configurations

For most architects, the effective design of three-dimensional space in two-dimensional media remains an ongoing conundrum. Kazuhiro Kojima , the founding partner of the C+A Tokyo (CAt) office, describes how he set out to tackle this through his creation of the pioneering Space Block system at the Kojima Laboratory in the Tokyo University of Science in 1994, a design tool that could capture and extract space. He describes its application and refinement in the development of two ensuing systems: Existing Space Blocks (ESBs) and Basic Space Blocks (BSBs).     

全球步行化语境下的步行交通策略研究——以苏黎世市为例

基于大量的访谈和实地调研的基础上,对苏黎世城市步行化发展策略分为城市步行化优先政策制定、实施和宣传,改善城市土地利用模式,推动公共交通与步行的结合,限制小汽车交通发展,完善步行系统自身建设等四个部分,并进行比较系统的分析总结。以期为当前中国的城市步行化发展提供有益的借鉴。     

Solutions You Cannot Draw

For Markus Braach , co-founder of architectural software consultancy Adaptive Architecture, an initial interest in genetic algorithms in the 1990s evolved into working on the generative simulations of historic cities that had developed organically over time, and then on to real urban planning projects with Kees Christiaanse Architects and Planners(KCAP). Here he describes how an emphasis on a purely bottom-up approach, which was characteristic of his earlier work and drew him to the field, has since been replaced in his practice by a greater emphasis on traditional spatial planning and usability.     

Motivating small construction companies to adopt new technology

Construction companies are increasingly being challenged to transfer and use new technology. However, little investigation has been undertaken on technology transfer from the perspective of the small construction company. A contribution to this underdeveloped area is based on results from an interview survey of seven small UK construction companies. The results stress that the technology which small construction companies tend to transfer more successfully is that which can contribute to the business in a quick, tangible fashion, and which can fit into existing organizational capabilities. Any technology that is too far removed from this ‘comfort zone’ is seen to require too much investment and to contain too much risk, and thus tends to be intuitively and swiftly sifted out. This is in marked contrast to the relevant literature that depicts large companies operating in more complex networks, drawing upon them for new tacit and explicit technologies that support more long-term, formal technology strategies, and which often complement some form of specialized internal research and development capability. The implication for policy is that any technology transfer initiatives need to appreciate and actively manage the different motivations and capabilities of small and large construction companies to absorb and use new technology.

Les entreprises de construction sont de plus en plus appelées à résoudre des questions de transfert et d'utilisation de technologies nouvelles. En revanche, on s'est peu intéressé au point de vue des petites entreprises de ce secteur sur les transferts de technologies. Cette contribution à ce secteur peu développé repose sur les résultats d'une enquête menée en Grande Bretagne auprès de sept petites entreprises de construction. Il en ressort que les technologies que les petites entreprises ont tendance à transférer le mieux sont celles qui peuvent contribuer au développement rapide et tangible des affaires et qui peuvent s'intégrer dans une structure organisationnelle existante. Toute technologie qui s'écarte de trop de cette ‘zone de confort’ est considérée comme nécessitant un investissement trop lourd et présenter trop de risques et a donc tendance à être intuitivement et rapidement mise à l'écart. Cette constatation est en complète opposition avec la littérature qui décrit de grandes entreprises opérant dans le cadre de réseaux plus complexes, attirant vers elles de nouvelles technologies tacites et explicites, compatibles avec des stratégies technologiques officielles à plus long terme et qui, souvent, complètent des formes de recherche interne spécialisée et de capacité de développement. L'implication politique est que toute initiative de transfert de technologie nécessite d'évaluer et de gérer activement les différentes motivations et capacités des petites et grandes entreprises de construction dans leur aptitude à absorber et utiliser de nouvelles technologies.     

法国国家建筑师菲利普·马岱克(Philippe Madec)与法国风景园林大师米歇尔·高哈汝(Michel Coraioud)访谈

菲利普·马岱克与米歇尔·高哈汝的访谈录,是一次建筑师与风景园林师关于设计理念思想火花的碰撞.其中高哈汝阐述了场地、地平线等一系列概念,强调景观的演变过程,指明了空间的渗透能力及空间之间的联盟关系.     

Sense and Sensibilia

Since the 1960s, innovation has become one of the sole purposes of architecture and membership of the avant-garde an underlying motive force. Philippe Morel of EZCT Architecture & Design Research juxtaposes the ‘sense and sensibilia’ of mathematics, now widely adopted by the ‘creative minorities’, against the idealism of mid 20th-century modernism. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

小剪跨比钢筋混凝土实腹支托的受力性能及非线性全过程分析

本文用非线性全过程分析和足尺试件的破损试验的方法对工业建筑结构中常用的小剪跨比钢筋混凝土支托进行力学性能的讨论。文章提出了小剪跨比支托不同于一般支托的力学特性和破坏机理,认为“剪摩理论”对于小剪跨比支托的适用性是存在的。     

利用模糊逻辑和遗传法对高层建筑结构进行主动控制

近年来土木工程结构上采用的主动调谐质量阻尼(ATMD)控制系统开始引起研究者们极大的关注。强调利用遗传法和模糊逻辑(GFLC)的组合作用,在ATMD控制系统的设计和优化措施中选择合适的参数,以使得在地震激励作用下建筑的反应最小化。因此,提出的方法,在处理不可预知的非线性现象方面,具有模糊逻辑控制(FLC)和遗传法(GAs)的双重优势。模型采用剪切型框架,并且在状态空间下解决问题。这种方法被应用在位于伊朗共和国的雷什特城的一个11层高的实际建筑上。从这种控制系统中得到的结果,与采用TMD方案和线性二次调节(LQR)控制方法中得出的结果相对比发现,GAs和FLC的综合使用对减少建筑在地震作用下的反应非常有效。     

A combination of damage locating vector method (DLV) and differential evolution algorithm (DE) for structural damage assessment

In this study, a two-stage method is presented for identifying multiple damage scenarios. In the first stage, the damage locating vector (DLV) method using normalized cumulative energy (nce) is employed for damage localization in structures. In the second stage, the differential evolution algorithm (DE) is used for damage severity of the structures. In addition, in the second stage, a modification of an available objective function is made for handing the issue of symmetric structures. To verify the effectiveness of the present technique, numerical examples of a 72-bar space truss and a one-span steel portal frame are considered. In addition, the effect of noise on the performance of the identification results is also investigated. The numerical results show that the proposed combination gives good assessment of damage location and extent for multiple structural damage cases.