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Project

Fuller Shells - Design and Optimization of Discrete Shell Structures Based on Regular Polyhedra

The aim of this project is to develop a novel family of lightweight shell structures using the efficient and elegant concept of the Fuller dome.

While shell structures are among the most material efficient structures to cover large spans, they are rarely built because they are expensive to design and construct. Nevertheless, Fuller domes have a highly regular triangular pattern that simplifies their design and assembly. This pattern is derived from the projection of a regular polyhedron onto the surface of a sphere. Richard Buckminster Fuller patented the Fuller dome in 1954, claiming it to be more material-efficient than any other construction due to the regularity of the pattern. However, the round shape of the Fuller dome limits its range of applicability.

In this project, the concept of Fuller domes will be extended to “Fuller shells”: shells with different shapes (such as cones and hyperboloids) that are triangulated according to the same principles as the Fuller dome. This will expand the existing design vocabulary for shell structures. The structural performance of Fuller domes and shells will be assessed using state-of-the-art structural analysis and optimization methods. The techniques for designing and sizing Fuller shells will be implemented in a user-oriented software toolbox for the 3D modeling package Rhinoceros; and the research results will be demonstrated through a prototype pavilion.

Date:26 Sep 2016 →  9 Sep 2022
Keywords:Structural optimization, Reticulated shells, Triangulation techniques
Disciplines:Architectural engineering, Architecture, Interior architecture, Architectural design, Art studies and sciences, Building engineering
Project type:PhD project