Structural forms
“The human environment, both natural and manufactured, provides an
ideal resource for graphic investigation, study
and analysis”
An insects eye
Spherical structure of Carbon atoms
By examining structures in nature we can see how principles in their
design are incorporated in man made structures
Epcot centre, Florida
Munich Olympic Stadium, Frei Otto
Exercise 1
Select one of the following well known Architects and
investigate if nature has been an influencing factor in creating
some of their designs. Outline the link between nature and one
of their structures.
Pier Luigi Nervi
Felix Candella
Santiago Calatrava
Antoni Gaudí
Frank Llyod wright
Tadao Ando
“ Investigation of the historical development of common
structural forms, including the arch, dome and vault, together
with the representation of these and other structures using line
diagrams”
An Arch is a structure that spans a space while supporting weight
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a
space with a ceiling or roof
The section is translated along a straight line
Barrel Vault, Egypt profile
The section is translated along a curved profile
Annular Vault,
A Dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the
hollow upper half of a sphere.
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Exercise 2
The image shows a Monolithic home in New Mexico. The main structure
is based on a Dome, the entrance porch is based on a Barrel vault.
(a) Using neat freehand sketches draw the orthographic views of the
structure.
(b) Draw the outline view of the home when it is cut by both a horizontal
section plane containing the top of the window and a vertical section
plane containing the front door.
Surfaces
A surface is generated by the movement of a straight line or curved
line. The resulting surfaces can be defined as either Ruled or doubly
curved .
A Ruled surface is generated by moving a straight line, the generatrix.
An infinite number of straight lines can be drawn through any
one point on a planar surface
Singly-Ruled surface
• If you select any point on a singly-ruled surface, you can only draw
one straight line through this point.
• A singly-ruled surface can be developed so that the complete surface
will lie on a plane.
• The most familiar examples are the curved surface of a cylinder or
cone. Other examples are the right conoid and the helicoid.
Cylinder
Cone
Conoid
Helicoid
Doubly-Ruled surface
• A surface is doubly ruled if through every one of its points there are
two distinct lines that lie on the surface.
• The Hyperbolic Paraboloid and the Hyperboloid of revolution of one
sheet are examples of doubly ruled surfaces.
Hyperboloid of revolution
The surface can be generated by revolving:
(1)A straight line about another non-parallel, non-intersecting line as its
axis (conjugate axis)
(2)A hyperbola about the conjugate axis
The throat circle is the shortest Can the cone and cylinder be
horizontal distance between the generated by revolving straight lines?
two skew lines
Hyperboloid Paraboloid
• Hyperbolic paraboloid are often referred to as "saddles,". Their name stems from the fact that their
vertical cross sections are parabolas, while the horizontal cross sections are hyperbolas.
• It is a warped surface and cannot be developed.
• The surface can be generated by:
(1) Translating a parabola contained on a vertical plane along another parabola also contained on a vertical
plane.
(2) By a straight line (generatrix) that moves along two non-parallel, non-intersecting lines known as linear
directrices. The generatrix as it moves must always remain parallel to a plane, called the plane director.
Guide Parabola
Parabolic profile