Advancing Wood Architecture - A Computational Approach

Advancing Wood Architecture - A Computational Approach

In light of environmental challenges architecture is facing, wood is no longer regarded as outmoded, nostalgic, and rooted in the past, but increasingly recognized as one of the most promising building materials for the future. Recent years have seen unprecedented innovation of new technologies for advancing wood architecture.

Advancing Wood Architecture offers a comprehensive overview of the new architectural possibilities that are enabled by cutting-edge computational technologies in wood construction. It provides both an overarching architectural understanding and in-depth technological information through built projects and the works of four leading design research groups in Europe. The projects presented include large scale, permanent buildings such as the ETH Arch-Tec Lab Building in Zurich, the Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall near Stuttgart and the Boiler House in Hooke Park, UK, as well as, built research prototypes investigating additive robotic fabrication, folded plate structures and meteorosensitive building skins. 

Illustrated in full colour, the book showcases the latest technological developments in design computation, simulation and digital fabrication together with an architectural, engineering and manufacturing perspective, offering an outlook towards novel spatial and constructional opportunities of a material with unrivalled ecological virtues.

Preface

Acknowledgements

Foreword Axel Kilian 

Introduction Achim Menges, Tobias Schwinn, Oliver David Krieg  

Part 1: Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zürich  

1. New Paradigms of the Automatic: Robotic Timber Construction in Architecture Jan Willmann, Fabio Gramazio, Matthias Kohler  2. Additive Robotic Fabrication of Complex Timber Structures Volker Helm, Michael Knauss, Thomas Kohlhammer, Fabio Gramazio4, Matthias Kohler 

3. The Sequential Roof Aleksandra Anna Apolinarska, Michael Knauss, Fabio Gramazio, Matthias Kohler  

Part 2: IBOIS Laboratory for Timber Construction, EPFL Lausanne 

4. Timber Fabric Structures: Innovative Wood Construction Yves Weinand 

5. Integral Joints for Timber Folded Plate Structures Christopher Robeller, Yves Weinand 

6. A Hybrid Simulation Workflow for Timber Fabric Structures Sina Nabaei, Olivier Baverel, Yves Weinand  

Part 3: Institute for Computational Design, University of Stuttgart 

7. Integrative Design Computation for Advancing Wood Architecture Achim Menges  8. Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall Tobias Schwinn  9. HygroSkin: Meteorosensitive Pavilion Oliver David Krieg  

Part 4: Design & Make Hooke Park, Architectural Association London 

10. Hooke Park: Applications for Timber in its Natural Form Martin Self 

11. The Timber Seasoning Shelter at Hooke Park Glen Stellmacher 

12. Hooke Park Biomass Boiler House Yingzi Wang  

Part 5: Perspectives 

13. Manufacturing Perspectives Tobias Schwinn 

14. Engineering Perspectives Oliver David Krieg in conversation with Manfred Grohmann and Jan Knippers  

15. Architectural Perspectives Axel Kilian  Index

About the authors:

Achim Menges is a registered architect and professor at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, where he is the founding director of the Institute for Computational Design. Currently he is also Visiting Professor in Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, USA.

Tobias Schwinn is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute for Computational Design at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. In his research he is focusing on the integration of robotic fabrication and computational design processes.

Oliver David Krieg is a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Institute for Computational Design at the University of Stuttgart, Germany. His research aims to investigate the architectural potentials of robotic fabrication in wood construction.

Reviews:

"This remarkable book showcases what architects could create with wood today using the latest computational design and robotic fabrication technologies. It features innovative wood architecture designed – and made – by four leading research groups in Europe. Rethinking wood from a computational perspective, they point to a variety of new ways in which this humble yet incredible material could be used in contemporary architecture." - Branko Kolarevic, University of Calgary