The question should not be “can this structure be built” but rather “should it be built”?  Or in addition to safety, stability, serviceability, are elegance, efficiency and economics also taken into account as key factors in the structural design process? An approach that comprises all these parameters requires out-of-the-box thinking for each design project. Civil engineers should use knowledge, ability, experience, fantasy and intuition to find an optimal and unique structural shape for a given set of boundary conditions. 

The search for the optimal durable shape is the recurring theme of our research group. Our projects include structural optimization techniques for complex curved surfaces driven by digital fabrication techniques, development of new structural bridge systems, interaction between tension structures and shaping elements and finally restoration and upgrading methodologies for historic “form follows force” structures with a permanent focus on life cycle thinking.

Please feel free to get in touch if you are interested in pursuing collaboration. Sigrid.