Origami-Inspired Facade Design
Parametric Studies for Architectural and Structural Efficiency
Sign in and Register
Create an Account
Overview
Abstract
To paraphrase Robert le Ricolias, the art of the structure is where to put the folds. Using that inspiration, fundamental concepts from origami, topology optimization and architecture are combined in parametric design studies for structurally and architecturally efficient facades. With the rapid rise in computing power and access to parametric software platforms, engineers and architects have been enabled to design buildings that are willfully inefficient for the sake of architectural expression. This research provides a way to couple artistic expression with structural efficiency by examining the potential efficiencies inherent in origami-inspired building envelope.
Several architectural strategies from constructed high-rise buildings are examined as examples of how architectural expression can help or hinder facade efficiency. The studies use daylighting or “self-shading” (architectural constraint) and stress ratios (structural constraint) to evaluate the impact of adjusting panelized geometry. A detailed parametric study of origami-inspired structural components and systems is presented as a baseline procedure for designers. Architectural implications of self-shading are evaluated using Grasshopper scripts and post-processing macros. The structural implications of the layouts have been analyzed with 3D FEA software using scripts to automate the analysis and results are interpreted in terms of material efficiency. Preliminary results of the method used on the Beijing Greenland Center case study indicate that origami-inspired topology resulted in a facade system that is 30% more energy efficient (i.e., reduction in solar gain) with 10% less material than the original geometry.
Authors
Joshua Schultz, Ph.D, P.E., LEED AP, ENV SP
Assistant Professor
Gonzaga University
schultzj@gonzaga.edu
Neil Katz, AIA
architect
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
neil.katz@som.com
Keywords
Introduction
Historically, the development of the building skin as an independent building element distinct from the gravity and lateral load bearing system(s) emancipated certain aesthetic considerations from previous structural limitations. However
Access Restricted
Background
Design and performance of tall buildings has been an area of major concern for practitioners and researchers alike, with efforts to more efficiently design tall buildings going back to the
Access Restricted
Research Method
An initial baseline case (i.e., flat wall) was established for Beijing Greenland Tower, then solar irradiation parametric studies were completed for a range of modular origami unit. First the studies
Access Restricted
Data and Results
Self-Shading Results
DIVA, which is a plug-in for Grasshopper and Rhino was used for analysis, verification of the environmental impact of a design, and optimization of selected parameters
Access Restricted
Explanation
The architectural optimization showed that maximizing the protrusion depth and pleat width provides the optimal typology (i.e., resulted in maximum self-shading which at the project latitude resulted in maximum building
Access Restricted
Conclusion and Future Work
The Beijing Greenland Center benefitted from the sequential optimization process which resulted in improved aesthetics, energy and material efficiency. The case study provides a compelling example of the advantages to
Access Restricted
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for the use of images.
Rights and Permissions
Andreozzi, Silvia, Gaia Ilenia Bessone, Matteo Botto Poala, Martina Bovo, Silvia Fernandez De Alaiza Amador, Emanuele Giargia, Alessandro Niccolai, Viola Papetti, and Stefano Mariani. "Self-adaptive Multi-purpose Modular Origami Structure." Procedia Engineering 161 (2016): 1423-1427.
Beghini, Alessandro, Lauren L. Beghini, Joshua A. Schultz, Juan Carrion, and William F. Baker. "Rankine’s theorem for the design of cable structures." Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization 48, no. 5 (2013): 877-892.
Del Grosso, A. E., and P. Basso. "Adaptive building skin structures." Smart Materials and Structures 19, no. 12 (2010): 124011.
Duncan, Scott, and Yue Zhu. "SOM and China: Evolving Skyscraper Design Amid Rapid Urban Growth." CTBUH Journal 4 (2016).
Frei, Otto, and Bodo Rasch. "Finding Form: towards an architecture of the minimal." Axel Menges, Stuttgard (1995).
Gilewski, Wojciech, Jan Pełczyński, and Paulina Stawarz. "A comparative study of origami inspired folded plates." Procedia Engineering 91 (2014): 220-225.
Hunt, Giles W., and Ichiro Ario. "Twist buckling and the foldable cylinder: an exercise in origami." International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 40, no. 6 (2005): 833-843.
Jaksch, Stefan, Alireza Fadai, and Wolfgang Winter. "Folded CLT structures-developments in design and assembly strategies." In World Conference on Timber Engineering, vol. 1, pp. 18-22. 2012.
Khan, Fazlur Rahman. "Recent structural systems in steel for high-rise buildings." In Proceedings of the British Constructional Steelwork Association Conference on Steel in Architecture, pp. 67-78. 1969.
Lang, Robert J. "Origami: Complexity in creases (again)." Engineering and Science 67, no. 1 (2004): 5-19.
Lang, Robert J. "The science of origami." Physics world 20, no. 2 (2007): 30.
Lang, Robert J. Origami Design Secrets: Mathematical Methods for an Ancient Art. CRC Press, 2003.
Miura, Koryo. "The science of Miura-ori: A review." In 4th International Meeting of Origami Science, Mathematics, and Education, RJ Lang, ed., AK Peters, Natick, MA, pp. 87-100. 2009.
Muljadinata, Albertus Sidharta, and AM Subakti Darmawan. "REDEFINING FOLDED PLATE STRUCTURE AS A FORM-RESISTANT STRUCTURE." (2006).
Norman, Monica, and Kaveh Arjomandi. "Origami Applications in Structural Engineering: A Look at Temporary Shelters."
Peraza-Hernandez, Edwin A., Darren J. Hartl, Richard J. Malak Jr, and Dimitris C. Lagoudas. "Origami-inspired active structures: a synthesis and review." Smart Materials and Structures 23, no. 9 (2014): 094001.
Pesenti, Marco, Gabriele Masera, and Francesco Fiorito. "Shaping an Origami shading device through visual and thermal simulations." Energy Procedia 78 (2015): 346-351.
Sarkisian, Mark. "Tall Buildings Design Inspired by Nature." In 36th Conference in Our World in Concrete&Structures, Singapore. 2011.
Schenk, Mark, and Simon D. Guest. "Origami Folding: A Structural Engineering Approach." In Origami 5: Fifth International Meeting of Origami Science, Mathematics, and Education, p. 291. CRC Press, 2011.
Shi, Xiaoqiang, and Joseph M. Gattas. "Design and folded fabrication of novel self-braced triangular structural sections and frames." In International Conference on Performance-based and Life-cycle Structural Engineering, pp. 792-798. School of Civil Engineering, The University of Queensland, 2015.
Sorguç, Arzu Gönenç, Ichiro Hagiwara, and Semra Arslan Selçuk. "Origamics in architecture: a medium of inquiry for design in architecture." Metu Jfa 2 (2009): 235-247.
Timoshenko, Stephen P., and James M. Gere. "Theory of elastic stability. 1961." McGrawHill-Kogakusha Ltd, Tokyo (1961): 9-16.
Yoshimura, Yoshimaru. "On the mechanism of buckling of a circular cylindrical shell under axial co