Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Events
Topic Page
Marketing
Log in
Learn more about individual access
Request company access
13th International Engine Congress 2026 | 24 + 25 February 2026

Meeting Place for the Powertrain and Sustainable Fuels Community

Take part as a speaker in the 13th International Engine Congress 2026, the Meeting Place for the Powertrain, and Sustainable Fuels Community for the exchange of experience. Submit a subject proposal online about our main subject areas: Passenger car engine technology, Commercial vehicle engine technology and Sustainable Fuels & Energy!
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Published in:
Read chapter Read first chapter

2024 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Spatial Curved Laminated Timber Structures

Authors : Vishu Bhooshan, Alicia Nahmad, Philip Singer, Taizhong Chen, Ling Mao, Henry David Louth, Shajay Bhooshan

Published in: Architecture and Design for Industry 4.0

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

The paper describes the physical realisation of a demonstration prototype produced by mouldless wood bending of discrete laminated timber elements which are interconnected to create a predominantly compression only spatial structure. Integrated design to production pipelines is increasingly valued in Architecture, Engineerinng and Construction, as it has contributed to developing methods of generation of the so-called architectural geometry and in bringing the various disciplines in the industry closer together. The research presented is motivated by the application and use of timber in such a realm. It details a design to production toolkit along with development of custom actuator-based tool to deliver sustainable benefits of reduced material usage and wastage in addition to efficient production of bent wood structures. Furthermore, the paper proposes an alternative procedure for polyhedral reconstruction of disjointed force polyhedrons from an input graph, which enables the creation of spatial structures in static equilibrium.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
previous chapter From DfMA to DfR: Exploring a Digital and Physical Technological Stack to Enable Digital Timber for SMEs
next chapter Unlocking Spaces for Everyone
Literature
1.
Verhagen, W.J., Bermell-Garcia, P., Van Dijk, R.E., et al.: A critical review of knowledge-based engineering: An identification of research challenges. Adv. Eng. Inf. 26(1), 5–15 (2012)
2.
Day, G., Gasparri, E., Aitchison, M.: Knowledge-based design in industrialised house building: a case-study for prefabricated timber walls. In: Digital Wood Design, pp. 989–1016. Springer (2019)
3.
4.
Himes, A., Busby, G.: Wood buildings as a climate solution. Dev. Built Environ. 4(100), 030 (2020)
5.
Svilans, T., Tamke, M., Thomsen, M.R., et al.: New workflows for digital timber. In: Digital Wood Design, pp. 93–134. Springer, Berlin (2019)
6.
Duro-Royo, J., Oxman, N.: Towards fabrication information modeling (fim): four case models to derive designs informed by multi-scale trans-disciplinary data. In: MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL), p. 1800 (2015)
7.
Poli, C.: Design for Manufacturing: A Structured Approach. Butterworth-Heinemann (2001)
8.
Svilans, T., Poinet, P., Tamke, M., et al.: A multi-scalar approach for the modelling and fabrication of free-form glue-laminated timber structures. In: Humanizing Digital Reality, pp. 247–257. Springer, Berlin (2018)
9.
Willmann, J., Gramazio, F., Kohler, M.: New paradigms of the automatic: robotic timber construction in architecture. In: Advancing Wood Architecture, pp. 13–28. Routledge (2016)
10.
Apolinarska, A.A., Knauss, M., Gramazio, F., et al.: The sequential roof. In: Advancing Wood Architecture, pp. 45–59. Routledge (2016)
11.
Helm, V., Knauss, M., Kohlhammer, T., et al.: Additive robotic fabrication of complex timber structures. In: Advancing Wood Architecture, pp. 29–44. Routledge (2016)
12.
Thoma, A., Adel, A., Helmreich, M., et al.: Robotic fabrication of bespoke timber frame modules. In: Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design, pp. 447–458. Springer, Berlin (2018)
13.
Adriaenssens, S., Barnes, M., Harris, R., et al.: Dynamic relaxation: Design of a strained timber grid shell. In: Shell Structures for Architecture, pp. 103–116. Routledge (2014)
14.
Linkwitz, K.: Force density method. In: Adriaenssens, S., Block, P., Veenendaal, D., et al. (eds.) Shell Structures For Architecture: Form Finding and Optimization, chap 6, pp. 59–69. Routledge (2014)
15.
Sullivan, B., Epp, L., Epp, G.: Long-span timber grid shell design and analysis: the Taiyuan domes. In: Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia, International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), pp. 1–10 (2020)
16.
Bhooshan, S., Bhooshan, V., Dell’Endice, A., et al.: The striatus bridge. In: Architecture, Structures and Construction, pp. 1–23 (2022)
17.
Block, P., Van Mele, T., Rippmann, M., et al.: Redefining structural art: strategies, necessities and opportunities. Struct. Eng. 98(1), 66–72 (2020)CrossRef
18.
Heisel, F., Schlesier, K., Lee, J., et al.: Design of a load-bearing mycelium structure through informed structural engineering. In: Proceeding of the World Congress on Sustainable Technologies (WCST) (2017)
19.
Lu, Y., Seyedahmadian, A., Chhadeh, P.A., et al.: Funicular glass bridge prototype: design optimization, fabrication, and assembly challenges. Glas. Struct. Eng. 1–12 (2022)
20.
Bhooshan, S.: Collaborative design: combining computer-aided geometry design and building information modelling. Archit. Des. 87(3), 82–89 (2017)
21.
Saint, A.: Architect and Engineer: A Study in Sibling Rivalry. Yale University Press New Haven, CT (2007)
22.
Scheurer, F.: Digital craftsmanship: from thinking to modeling to building. In: Digital Workflows in Architecture, pp. 110–131. Birkhäuser (2012)
23.
Lee, J., Van Mele, T., Block, P.: Disjointed force polyhedra. Comput. Aided Des. 99, 11–28 (2018)CrossRef
24.
Kilian, M., Flöry, S., Chen, Z., et al.: Curved folding. In: ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG), p 75. ACM (2008)
25.
Liu, Y., Pottmann, H., Wallner, J., et al.: Geometric modeling with conical meshes and developable surfaces. ACM Trans. Graph. (TOG) 25, 681–689 (2006)CrossRef
26.
27.
Schüller, C., Poranne, R., Sorkine-Hornung, O.: Shape representation by zippables. ACM Trans. Graph. 37(4) (2018)
28.
Bhooshan, V., Reeves, D., Bhooshan, S., et al.: Mayavault—a mesh modelling environment for discrete funicular structure. Nexus Netw. J. 20(3), 567–582 (2018)CrossRef
29.
Jiang, C., Tang, C., Tomičí, M., et al.: Interactive Modeling of Architectural Freeform Structures: Combining Geometry with Fabrication and Statics. In: Advances in Architectural Geometry 2014, pp. 95–108. Springer, Berlin (2015)
30.
Prévost, R., Whiting, E., Lefebvre, S., et al.: Make it stand: balancing shapes for 3D fabrication. ACM Trans. Graph. (TOG) 32(4), 81 (2013)CrossRef
31.
Tang, C., Sun, X., Gomes, A., et al.: Form-finding with polyhedral meshes made simple. ACM Trans. Graph. 33(4), 70–71 (2014)CrossRef
32.
Akbarzadeh, M., Van Mele, T., Block, P.: On the equilibrium of funicular polyhedral frames and convex polyhedral force diagrams. Comput. Aided Des. 63, 118–128 (2015)CrossRef
33.
Block, P., Ochsendorf, J.: Thrust network analysis: A new methodology for three-dimensional equilibrium. J.-Int. Assoc. Shell Spat. Struct. 155, 167 (2007)
34.
Rippmann, M.: Funicular Shell Design: Geometric Approaches to Form Finding and Fabrication of Discrete Funicular Structures (2016)
35.
Rippmann, M., Tv, M., Popescu, M., et al.: The armadillo vault: Computational design and digital fabrication of a freeform stone shell. Adv. Arch. Geom. 2016, 344–363 (2016)
36.
Vouga, E., Mathias, H., Wallner, J., et al.: Design of Self-supporting surfaces. ACM Trans. Graph. 31(4) (2012)
37.
Bhooshan, V., Louth, H.D., Bhooshan, S., et al.: Design workflow for additive manufacturing: a comparative study. Int. J. Rapid Manuf. 7(2–3), 240–276 (2018)CrossRef
38.
Louth, H., Reeves, D., Koren, B., et al.: A prefabricated dining pavilion: Using structural skeletons, developable offset meshes, kerf-cut and bent sheet materials. In: Menges, A., Sheil, B., Glynn, R., et al. (eds.) Fabricate 2017, pp. 58–67. UCL Press (2017)
39.
Bhooshan, V., Fuchs, M., Bhooshan, S.: 3d printing, topology optimization and statistical learning: A case study. In: Proceedings of the 2017 Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design, Society for Computer Simulation International (2017)
40.
Pottmann, H., Brell-Cokcan, S., Wallner, J.: Discrete surfaces for architectural design. In: Curves and Surfaces, pp 213–234. Avignon (2006)
41.
Bhooshan, S., El Sayed, M.: Use of sub-division surfaces in architectural form-finding and procedural modelling. In: Proceedings of the 2011 Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design, Society for Computer Simulation International, pp. 60–67 (2011)
42.
Bhooshan, S., Veenendaal, D., Block, P.: Particle-spring systems—Design of a cantilevering concrete canopy. In: Adriaenssens, S., Block, P., Veenendaal, D., et al. (eds.).: Shell Structures for Architecture: Form Finding and Optimization, p. 103. Routledge (2014)
43.
Bhooshan, S., Bhooshan, V., ElSayed, M., et al.: Applying dynamic relaxation techniques to form-find and manufacture curve-crease folded panels. SIMULATION 91(9), 773–786 (2015)CrossRef
44.
Bhooshan, S., Bhooshan, V., Shah, A., et al.: Curve-folded formwork for cast, compressive skeletons. In: Proceedings of the Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design. Society for Computer Simulation International, pp, 221–228. San Diego, CA, USA, SimAUD ’15 (2015b)
45.
Bhooshan, S., Ladinig, J., Van Mele, T., et al.: Function representation for robotic 3D printed concrete. In: Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design, pp 98–109. Springer, Berlin (2018a)
46.
Panozzo, D., Block, P., Sorkine-Hornung, O.: Designing unreinforced masonry models. ACM Trans. Graph. (TOG) 32(4), 91 (2013)
47.
Schwartzburg, Y., Pauly, M.: Fabrication-aware design with intersecting planar pieces. In: Computer Graphics Forum, pp. 317–326. Wiley Online Library (2013)
48.
Maxwell, J.C.: Xlv. on reciprocal figures and diagrams of forces. Lond., Edinb., Dublin Philos. Mag. J. Sci. 27(182), 250–261 (1864)
49.
Rankine, W.: Xvii. principle of the equilibrium of polyhedral frames. Lond., Edinb., Dublin Philos. Mag. J. Sci. 27(180), 92–92 (1864)
50.
Akbarzadeh, M.: 3d graphic statics using reciprocal polyhedral diagrams Ph.D. Ph.D. thesis, thesis Zurich, Switzerland: ETH Zurich (2016)
51.
Hablicsek, M., Akbarzadeh, M., Guo, Y.: Algebraic 3d graphic statics: Reciprocal constructions. Comput. Aided Des. 108, 30–41 (2019)MathSciNetCrossRef
52.
Lee, J., Meled, T.V., Block, P.: Form-finding explorations through geometric transformations and modifications of force polyhedrons. In: Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia, International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), pp. 1–10 (2016)
53.
Williams, C., McRobie, A.: Graphic statics using discontinuous airy stress functions. Int. J. Space Struct. 31(2–4), 121–134 (2016)CrossRef
54.
Akbarzadeh, M., Nejur, A.: PolyFrame Manual. Polyhedral Structures Laboratory, Penn Design. University of Pennsylvania (2018)
55.
56.
Bolhassani, M., Akbarzadeh, M., Mahnia, M., et al.: On structural behavior of a funicular concrete polyhedral frame designed by 3d graphic statics. Structures 14 (2018)
57.
Bhooshan, V., Louth, H., Bieling, L., et al.: Spatial developable meshes. In: Design Modelling Symposium, pp. 45–58. Springer, Berlin (2019)
58.
Liu, Y., Lu, Y., Akbarzadeh, M.: Kerf bending and zipper in spatial timber tectonics: A polyhedral timber space frame system manufacturable by 3-axis cnc milling machine. In: Proceedings of the Association for Computer-Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) (2021)
59.
Reeves, D., Bhooshan, V., Bhooshan, S.: Freeform developable spatial structures. In: Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia, International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), pp. 1–10 (2016)
60.
Wang, Z., Akbarzadeh, M.: A polyhedral approach for the design of a compression-dominant, double-layered, reciprocal frame, multi-species timber shell. In: Proceedings of IASS Symposium and Spatial Structures Conference 2022, Innovation Sustainability Legacy. Beijing, China (2022)
61.
Adney, E.T., Chapelle, H.I.: Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. (2007)
62.
63.
Wright, R.S., Bond, B.H., Chen, Z.: Steam bending of wood; embellishments to an ancient technique. BioResources 8(4), 4793–4796 (2013)CrossRef
64.
Ursula, F.: Beyond the Truss [Lecture]. University College of London (2022)
65.
Krieg, O., Menges, A.: Potentials of robotic fabrication in wood construction: elastically bent timber sheets with robotically fabricated finger joints. In: Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture, pp. 253–260 (2013)
66.
Menges, A.: Integrative Design Computation: integrating material behaviour and robotic manufacturing processes in computational design for performative wood constructions. In: ACADIA 2011 Proceedings: Integration Through Computation, pp. 72–81 (2011)
67.
68.
Satterfield, B., Preiss, A., Mavis, D., et al.: Bending the line zippered wood creating non-orthogonal architectural assemblies using the most common linear building component (the 2x4). In: Burry, J., Sabin, J., Sheil, B., et al. (eds.) Fabricate: Making Resilient Architecture, pp. 58–65 (2020)
69.
70.
Drexler, A.: Charles Eames Furniture From the Design Collection the Museum of Modern Art. The Museum of Modern Art (1973)
71.
Lienhard, J., Alpermann, H., Gengnagel, C., et al.: Active bending, a review on structures where bending is used as a self-formation process. Int. J. Space Struct. 28(3–4), 187–196 (2013)CrossRef
72.
73.
74.
75.
Schek, H.J.: The force density method for form finding and computation of general networks. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 3(1), 115–134 (1974)MathSciNetCrossRef
76.
Akbarzadeh, M., Mele, T.V., Block, P.: Three-dimensional compression form finding through subdivision. In: Proceedings of IASS Annual Symposia, International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), pp. 1–7 (2015a)
77.
Akbarzadeh, M., Van Mele, T., Block, P.: Compression-only form finding through finite subdivision of the external force polygon. In: Proceedings of the IASS-SLTE 2014 Symposium. Brasilia, Brazil (2014)
78.
Kremer, M., Bommes, D., Kobbelt, L.: Open volume mesh–a versatile index-based data structure for 3d polytopal complexes. In: Proceedings of the 21st International Meshing Roundtable, pp. 531–548. Springer, Berlin (2013)
79.
McRobie, A.: Rankine Reciprocals with Zero Bars. Preprint (2017)
80.
Minkowski, H.: Allgemeine lehrs¨atze u¨ber die convexen polyeder. Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu G¨ottingen. Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse 1897, 198–220 (1897)
81.
Little, J.J.: An iterative method for reconstructing convex polyhedra from extended gaussian images. In: Proceedings of the Third AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence, pp. 247–250 (1983)
82.
83.
84.
85.
Lachauer, L., Block, P.: Interactive equilibrium modelling. J. Int. Assoc. Shell Spat. Struct. 29(1) (2014)
86.
Coxeter, H.S.M., Greitzer, S.L.: Geometry Revisited, vol. 19 (1967). Maa Day, G., Gasparri, E., Aitchison, M.: Knowledge-based design in industrialised house building: A case-study for prefabricated timber walls. In: Digital Wood Design, pp. 989–1016. Springer, Berlin (2019)
87.
Catmull, E., Clark, J.: Recursively generated b-spline surfaces on arbitrary topological meshes. Comput. Aided Des. 10(6), 350–355 (1978)CrossRef
88.
89.
90.
91.
Mellis, D., Banzi, M., Cuartielles, D., et al.: Arduino: An open electronic prototyping platform. Proc. CHI 2007, 1–11 (2007)
Metadata
Title
Spatial Curved Laminated Timber Structures
Authors
Vishu Bhooshan
Alicia Nahmad
Philip Singer
Taizhong Chen
Ling Mao
Henry David Louth
Shajay Bhooshan
Copyright Year
2024
Book
Architecture and Design for Industry 4.0

Print ISBN: 978-3-031-36921-6

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-36922-3

Copyright Year: 2024

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36922-3_43

Premium Partners

    Image Credits