Nature as a teacher of optimal design challenges our belief that… we can build whatever we like…Sustainability and durability concerns over our future infra-structure provide the motivation for this talk, featuring Nature-informed solutions to design by employing the principle of constant stress. This principle is exploited within a ‘form-finding’ approach - a process of shaping buildings using, or controlling, forces in them. Originally, form-finding comprised physical experiments, such as the ones used by Antonio Gaudi in relation to the design of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, or Frei Otto, in relation to tension fabric roofs over the Munich Olympic stadium. These days, computational models are the first choice for more accurate predictions of form-found geometries, but they still need to be complemented by physical models, to test physical reality (presence of gravity) and gain instantaneous 3D visualisations.
Many designs ignore Nature and follow an architectural ’whim’. The consequences of this will be discussed with reference to well-known ‘innovative’ structures, such as the Sydney Opera House, the ‘Nest’ stadium in China, and the O2 Arena in London, to name just a few. These inadequate structural designs will be contrasted with the ones offered by Nature-informed form-finding approaches.
Professor Wanda Lewis FICE FRSA, School of Engineering, University of Warwick, UK
Having obtained a diploma in economics and a civil engineering degree in Poland, Wanda obtained an MSc degree in Foundation Engineering and then a PhD in Structures in the UK. After a short spell in industry 1983-1986, she joined the University of Warwick where she resides to this day. She is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Her extensive research experience culminated in a monograph Tension Structures, numerous research articles, short films, and press releases. Her professional interests concern modelling of optimal structural forms using a process of form-finding that implements natural design principles. Recently, she pioneered analytical form-finding techniques for predicting natural forms of arch structures – work sponsored by the Leverhulme Trust.
In the past, she led a number of national and European research projects in collaboration with industry (Arup, Jaguar Cars, Roll-Royce, SL-Rach, Canobbio, ESI) and was a principal Investigator in a cross-disciplinary project: Designing for the 21st Century, in collaboration with the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.
A buffet is available before the presentation