Structural Design I

The courses Structural Design I and II explain the fundamentals of how structures function. These courses put great emphasis on studying the relationship between the form of a structure and the internal forces within it by means of graphic statics.

Robert Maillart, Magazzini Generali, Chiasso

Exercise 1: Equilibrium

Introduction to graphic statics. By means of simple tasks, the students learn to disassemble and join forces, as well as to create form and force diagrams using graphic statics.

Eero Saarinen, Dulles Airport, Washington

Exercise 2: Graphic Statics

The basics of graphic statics are practiced with simple cable structures. The first exercise showed how to combine resp. exclude forces and how to create an equilibrium. This exercise is a deepening of graphical methods, again with cable structures. Dimensioning is also introduced using various examples.

Frei Otto, Olympiastadion, München

Exercise 3: Cables

In the last exercise, simple cable structures were studied. The following exercise helps you to deepen your knowledge about form finding and more complex cable structures. You have to find thrust lines (cable forms) for cable structures with different loads.

Samyn and Partners, M&G Research Laboratory, Venafro

Exercise 4: Arches

This exercise involves arches and thrust lines. As it is the case for suspension cables, the arch shape also follows the load (thrust line). Therefore, all previous methods are also applicable to an arch. What is new are the initial investigations on support reactions.

Nicholas Grimshaw, Waterloo Station, London, UK

Exercise 5: Arch-Cable Structures

In this exercise, the learnt methods of graphic statics are applied to hybrid arch-cable structures. Special attention is paid to determining the reaction forces for different structures and load cases.

Frei Otto: German Expo-Pavilion, Montreal, 1967

Exercise X: Additional Exercise

In this exercise, the methods of graphic statics learned in the first semester are summarized and repeated in one single exercise. We strongly recommend that you solve the exercise as repetition and exam-preparation.