FORM-FINDING OF ARCHES

Parametric design should not be understood as the use of computers to design and manipulate architectural form in new freeform shapes. The algorithms that guide parametric design allow architects to overcome the limitations of traditional CAD software and 3D modelers, reaching a level of complexity and control which is beyond the human manual ability. Algorithms-Aided Design presents design methods based on the use a traditional or visual algorithm integrated with a the 3D modeling software allowing users to explore shapes that are defined by specific parameters. This research focuses on strategies that help us shape forms by using forces (loads) as the guiding parameter. It explores different approaches of implementing these parameters in the Rhinoceros modeling software through the Grasshopper virtual programing environment that enable us to simulate the behavior arches and form-find the optimal shape under varying conditions. The research shows that accurate simulation of physics is possible in the environment and that with this kind of form-finding approach the design is always focused on structural optimization. Form-finding defined by force rather than typology allows designers to create new structural solutions, which are not only spatially complex and always constrained to be in static equilibrium, but also free from any prior biases towards known geometries or typologies.