Block Research Group

News

Lectures at the University of Salerno, Italy

24.10.2009

Prof. Block has been invited by Profs. Fernando Fraternali and Enrico Sicignano to present his PhD research at the University of Salerno. Two back-to-back lectures on Tuesday October 27: "Conserving the Past / Designing the Future" and "Exploiting Structural Indeterminacy". More Info

Mapungubwe project wins Sustainability Award

11.10.2009

The Mapungubwe National Park Interpretive Centre project in South Africa won one of the prestigious Structural Awards 2009. The project received the David Alsop Sustainability Award for "achievement in structural design, where outstanding commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment has been demonstrated." Prof. Block was involved in the structural analysis of the unreinforced, soil-pressed tile vaults.More Info.

Release "Form & Forces: Designing Efficient, Expressive Structures"

01.10.2009

"Form & Forces: Designing Efficient, Expressive Structures", the reworked and extended new edition of "Shaping Structures", by Allen and Zalewski is arguably (one of) the most comprehensive classroom textbook on structures and structural behaviour for designers. It re-introduced graphic statics and is strongly geared towards practical design problems, from conception to detailing to realisation and construction. Prof. Block co-authored the chapter on masonry design with Prof. John Ochsendorf, MIT.

Opening ITA Exhibition at ETH Hoenggerberg on 24 September

21.09.2009

On September 24 2009, the exhibition "Einblicke" opens, celebrating the new Institute of Technology in Architecture (ITA) at the Faculty of Architecture (D-ARCH) of the ETH Zurich. Philippe Block will be showing his research and projects introduction his BLOCK Research Group at ETH. The latest model of the Escobedo Vault will be featured at the exhibition.More Info.