New opportunities for the conceptual design of material-efficient antifunicular structures

Abstract

Non-structural design criteria (e.g., usability, architectural needs, esthetics) may prohibit the selection of purely funicular or anti-funicular shapes. In response to this issue, this paper illustrates the possibility of achieving an axial-only behavior, even if the geometry departs from the ideally bending-free shape. This is achieved by adding forces through an external post-tensioning system, with a layout defined through graphic statics. The paper briefly illustrates examples of this approach and its implementation within a design-driven software where structural performance and geometric variation are embedded within an interactive and parametric working environment.