01 Fakultät Architektur und Stadtplanung

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/handle/11682/2

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Open Access
A case of recovery of a medieval vaulting technique in the 19th century: Lassaulx's vaults in the Church of Treis
(2003) Wendland, David
In 1829, the "Journal für die Baukunst" published an essay with the title "Description of the procedure in the making of light vaults over churches and similar spaces", where, referring to observations made on medieval buildings, a method of building vaults without formwork is described. The author of this essay, Johann Claudius von Lassaulx (1781-1848), was a Royal Prussian building inspector at Koblenz (Germany). As an architect he built numerous public buildings in that area, including several large parish churches in the medieval style. He was strongly engaged in research, restoration and maintenance of medieval architecture, as well as a promoter of neo-medieval architecture both in his projects and in his writings. The first major project where Lassaulx put in practise his method of vaulting, is the new parish church at Treis, near Koblenz. This church, built in 1824-1831, was one of the very first churches in gothic style in modern age in Germany. Following a critical analysis of Lassaulx's essay, his description of the vaulting technique is compared with his own vault constructions referred to in the essay, where based on digital measurements a geometrical analysis of the masonry fabric has been carried out. This comparative study gives the opportunity to understand in detail the building technology and the conceptual choices in the making of the technological artefact. Further, the relevance of Lassaulx's publication and its position within the development of the technical literature, building technology and architecture in the 19th century are discussed. In fact, the precise technical description of a construction principle that allows its reproduction, provided by its author, is a necessary condition for creating a relationship between architectural design and the technical solution in detail, characteristic for the neo-medieval architecture and the development of modern architecture. In this study, the possibilities of the application of modern information technology in the survey of historical constructions are shown, namely the use of three-dimensional measurement and reverse geometric engineering for the aim of geometrical analysis, as well as the connection of technical, philological and architectural-historic analyses. The contribution is a preliminary report of the research contained in the author's doctoral thesis “Lassaulx und der Gewölbebau mit selbsttragenden Mauerschichten. Neumittelalterliche Architektur um 1825-1848”, supervised by Prof. Dr. phil. D. Kimpel, University of Stuttgart, Institut für Architekturgeschichte, delivered in 2007.
Open Access
Form-finding of grid shells with continuous elastic rods
(2011) Li, Jian-Min; Knippers, Jan
Grid shells with continuous elastic rods have the advantages to generate curved spaces with uniform members and joints. However, finding the boundary conditions, including the grid pattern and bearing positions, which lead to a specific geometry, is not an easy task. Designers have to keep equal grid lengths, minimise the residual forces and ensure the smoothness of geometries simultaneously. In this paper, we present a new numerical method which can derive the grid pattern and bearing positions in accordance with a desired geometry. This is done by finding the least strain energy state of the elastic grid in the solution domain defined by constraints. This method can provide architects a grid pattern that satisfies all the geometrical demands. At the same time, a structure with less strain energy is favoured by engineers. This is especially important for elastic grid shells, whose structural stability is largely affected by the residual forces.
Open Access
Integrated design methods for the simulation of fibre-based structures
(2013) Waimer, Frédéric; La Magna, Riccardo; Reichert, Steffen; Schwinn, Tobias; Menges, Achim; Knippers, Jan
The production of structural components based on fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) for the building industry is still characterised by a classic downstream development process from design through engineering and down to fabrication. In the aerospace and automotive industry, the current technical developments in simulation and manufacturing processes have reached a highly advanced status. Nevertheless, these manufacturing and Analysis processes are in most cases non-transferable or unsuitable for architectural and structural purposes. The goal of the research presented in this paper is to take advantage of the benefits of FRPs within the architectural domain - focusing on material efficiency, durability and light-weight construction - and to find solutions for the problem of transferability into the building scale. For the construction of a Pavilion built on the campus of the University of Stuttgart in 2012, process-specific tools with a high degree of accuracy embedded from the start were developed for the material analysis, optimisation and fabrication steps. In contrast to product prototyping, which forms the basis of industrial mass production, prototype here refers to the establishment of processes within the context of a post-industrial, customised fabrication paradigm.
Open Access
Model-based formfinding processes: free forms in structural and architectural design
(2000) Wendland, David
The problem of form generation and of the transmission of production instructions is discussed, introducing the concept of form process. Examples for instructions is discussed, introducing the concept of form process. Examples for architectural motivations are presented. In structural design, physical models have been used to determine the figure of equilibrium for structures resistant by form, such as tents, tensile structures or shell structures. For structural design as well as for architectural design not concerning structure, some examples for the application of working methods are discussed, and it is shown how it has become possible to realize the outcome of the form-finding process in industrial production.
Open Access
Nature-inspired generation scheme for shell structures
(2012) La Magna, Riccardo; Waimer, Frédéric; Knippers, Jan
Although less researched and put into practice in the building environment, pure plate structures are to be observed frequently in biological structures. The 3-plate principle which is common in the morphology and growth pattern of natural systems is also found to be of a structurally optimum content when considered from a plate point of view. This is for instance the case of the sea urchin’s plate skeleton morphology, which served as biological inspiration for the recently built ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2011 at the University of Stuttgart. The current paper will focus on the 3-plate principle and its mechanical features, also presenting study models to analyse the structural characteristics and advantages of the principle. Along with the theoretical background, the paper will introduce the structural concept of the pavilion, as well as the analysis methods used for its design and engineering.
Open Access
Vaults built without formwork : comparison of the description of a traditional technique in building manuals with the results of practical observations and experimental studies
(2005) Wendland, David
The presented study is dealing with vaults built with current brick formats, avoiding the need of formwork by the layout of their masonry pattern. The descriptions in the historical technical literature are the base of our knowledge on the traditional technique; yet this information is not sufficient for its reproduction. A complementary study taken out on historical constructions and practical experimentation leads also to a critical revision of the manuals themselves. On the key issues of the geometrical description of the apparatus and of the shape in relation to the construction process, the relation between the manuals and the practice are discussed. In particular, an experimental construction is presented which has been realized within the author's teaching activity at the School of Architecture at the TU Dresden (Germany; chair of structural design, Prof. Dr.-Ing. W. Jäger). The realization of this experiment is also an example of the didactic approach of "learning by doing" in architecture teaching. The contribution is a preliminary report of some of the research contained in the author's doctoral thesis “Lassaulx und der Gewölbebau mit selbsttragenden Mauerschichten. Neumittelalterliche Architektur um 1825-1848”, supervised by Prof. Dr. phil. D. Kimpel, University of Stuttgart, Institut für Architekturgeschichte, delivered in 2007.