Expanding Bending-Active Bamboo Gridshell Structures' Design Solution Space Through Hybrid Assembly Systems

Abstract

This paper discusses the development and testing of a novel design method for the low-tech construction of bending-active bamboo gridshell structures. It expands this typology’s current design solution space by combining and building up on two common production methods for light-weight shell structures: 1) the “lay-up” method, typically used in bamboo architecture in which members are added one at a time, and 2) the “flatbed” method, in which a prefabricated equidistant flat grid without shear rigidity is propped up and deformed into its final doubly curved shape. The novel methodology expands the system’s design solution space by incorporating singularities within the grid topology and by layering multiple separate grids. This allows for spatially radically different building geometries without loss of implementation workflow efficiency. A demonstrator design project, tested through a large-scale prototype model, is described to illustrate the possible spatially engaging architectural design opportunities presented by the novel approach.