Designing for forces : an early-stage design program for axial-force structures

Abstract

Structures that carry most of their load through the axial forces of tension or compression are more materially efficient than standard structures. However, they are not as straightforward to design since the forces in the structure depend on shape. The traditional method of form finding for such axial force structures is to create physical hanging models. These models are slow to produce and difficult to measure. Few digital design aids exist for designing axial force structures, and those that do tend to be for optimization or analysis, not necessarily for early stage design. In addition, they tend to lack desired functionality for a design program, and also tend focus on creating forms without considering engineering functionality. Since form and forces are so intertwined in axial-force structures, consideration of both in the early stages of design is desirable and is not fully addressed by existing programs. This thesis presents a new early stage design program, ForceDesigner, which improves the functionality of earlier programs and facilitates design by both architects and engineers. It builds on earlier design programs that use the particle spring system for creating digital hanging models, implementing the system in Processing and Java. The result is a program with a number of novel functions that allows designers interested in both form and forces to more quickly and easily create an unlimited number of efficient structures.