Asymptotic Geodesic Hybrid Timber Gridshell

Abstract

<p>This paper presents a strategy to design and build strained timber gridshellsfrom exclusively straight timber planks, which are interwoven and elastically deployedinto a doubly curved web. For this purpose, we combine asymptotic (A) and geodesic(G) curves into hybrid AAG-webs on curved surfaces. We present a digital method todesign and geometrically optimize the timber AAG-webs to include equal intersectionangles and geodesic boundaries. This new construction system benefits from the tar-geted use of the two differing bending axes of timber planks for flexibility and rigidity.The flat geodesic planks are interlaced at the midpoint of the asymptotic beams tocreate a tri-hex pattern, which lowers the buckling length and decisively increases theoverall stiffness. As a proof of concept, a large-scale timber gridshell covering an areaof 60 m2was designed and built. We document the construction process of manufac-turing, prefabrication, elastic deformation, on-site assembly, and installation of thepolycarbonate cover to verify constructive tolerances and feasibility. The structure istested and simulated to validate our computational results.<br></p>