Davide Tanadini: Catalogue data in Autumn Semester 2023 |
| Name | Dr. Davide Tanadini |
| Address | Professur für Tragwerksentwurf ETH Zürich, HIB E 11 Stefano-Franscini-Platz 1 8093 Zürich SWITZERLAND |
| Telephone | +41 44 633 74 91 |
| tanadini@arch.ethz.ch | |
| Department | Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering |
| Relationship | Lecturer |
| Number | Title | ECTS | Hours | Lecturers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101-0123-00L | Structural Design  | 3 credits | 2G | J. Pauli, F. Bertagna, P. Block, D. Tanadini | |
| Abstract | The goal of the course is to introduce the civil engineering students to Structural Design, which is regarded as a discipline that relates structural behavior, construction technologies and architectural concepts. The course encourages the students to understand the relationship between the form of a structure and the forces within it by promoting the development of designed projects. | ||||
| Learning objective | After successfully completing this course the students will able to: 1. Critically question structural design concepts of historical and contemporary references 2. Use graphic statics and strut-and-tie models based on the Theory of Plasticity to describe the load bearing behavior of structures 3. Understand different construction technologies and have an awareness of their potential for structural design 4. Use contemporary digital tools for the design of structures in equilibrium 5. Design an appropriate structural system for a given design task taking into account architectural considerations | ||||
| Content | The goal of the course is to introduce the civil engineering students to Structural Design, which is understood as a discipline that relates structural behavior, construction technologies and architectural concepts. Hence, the course encourages the students to develop an intuitive understanding of the relationship between the form of a structure and the forces within it by promoting the development of designed projects, in which the static and architectural aspects come together. The course is structured in two main parts, each developed in half of a semester: a mainly theoretical one (including the teaching of graphic statics) and a mainly applied one (focused on the development of a design project by the students using digital form-finding tools). Theory: Graphic statics is a graphical method developed by Prof. Karl Culmann and firstly published in 1864 at ETH Zurich. In this approach to structural analysis and design, geometric construction techniques are used to visualize the relation between the geometry of a structure and the forces acting in and on it, represented by geometrically dependent form and force diagrams. The course will firstly review the main principles of graphic statics through a series of frontal lectures and discuss the relationship to analytical statics. Graphic statics is then used as an operative tool to design structures in equilibrium based on the lower bound theorem of the Theory of Plasticity. Additionally, the course will introduce contemporary methodologies and tools (parametric CAD software) for the interactive application of equilibrium modelling in the form of short workshops. The students will familiarize with the topic by solving exercises and confronting themselves with simple design tasks. Design Project: Specific structural design approaches and design methodologies based on graphic statics and references from construction history will be introduced to the students by means of seminars and workshops. By developing a design project, the students will apply these concepts and techniques in order to become proficient with open design tasks (such as the design of a bridge, a large span hall or a tower). At the end of the semester, the students present their projects to a jury of internal and external critics in a final review. The main criterion of evaluation is the students' ability to integrate architectural considerations into their structural design. | ||||
| Literature | "Faustformel Tragwerksentwurf" (Philippe Block, Christoph Gengangel, Stefan Peters, DVA Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt 2015, ISBN 978-3-421-04012-1) "Form and Forces: Designing Efficient, Expressive Structures" (Edward Allen, Waclaw Zalewski, October 2009, ISBN: 978-0-470-17465-4) "The art of structures, Introduction to the functioning of structures in architecture" (Aurelio Muttoni, EPFL Press, 2011, ISBN-13: 978-0415610292, ISBN-10: 041561029X) | ||||