ARC - Architectural freeform structures from single curved panels

Complex freeform structures are one of the most striking trends in contemporary architecture. So far, design and manufacturing of such structures are based on digital technologies which have been developed for other industries (automotive, naval, aerospace industry). Architecture differs from these traditional target industries of CAD/CAM technology in many ways including aesthetics, statics, structural aspects, scale and manufacturing technologies. Manufacturing architectural freeform structures requires the segmentation into panels, which may be either flat, single curved or double curved. In the ARC project, we investigated the problem of building architectural freeform structures from single curved panels. From the mathematical perspective, this leads to new semi-discrete surface representations called developable strip models, which constitute a link between smooth and discrete surfaces and can be studied with methods from differential geometry and computational mathematics. To meet the practical requirements, solid knowledge and large experience in architectural design and engineering is essential. Three partners joined to meet the challenges in this field: Vienna University of Technology, RFR, and Evolute.

Project Title		Geometric manufacturing solutions for freeform shapes
Project Number		230520
Start Date		2009-03-01
End Date		2013-02-28
Funding Agency		European Union FP7