Papers by Shuaizhong Wang
Architectural Research Quarterly
The changing concepts of the body have had a significant impact on architectural and structural d... more The changing concepts of the body have had a significant impact on architectural and structural design thinking. This article examines the influence of historical analogies with the body on structural design, highlighting the analogies’ bias against functionalist aesthetics and their scope limitations. By contrast, recent advances in cognitive neuroscience research on the body and perception enable us to gain a new perspective on the analogy between body and structure. While exposing the traditional analogy's static and one-sided limitations, the article proposes the perspective of incorporating bodily experience dimensions into structural design considerations based on neuroscience. The article also emphasises the importance of collaboration with all disciplines in the structural design process from a biological standpoint, with the goal of refining and enriching the analogy between structure and body, thus complementing and refining the artistic and human dimensions of structu...
arq: Architectural Research Quarterly, 2023
The changing concepts of the body have had a significant impact on architectural and structural d... more The changing concepts of the body have had a significant impact on architectural and structural design thinking. This article examines the influence of historical analogies with the body on structural design, highlighting the analogies’ bias against functionalist aesthetics and their scope limitations. By contrast, recent advances in cognitive neuroscience research on the body and perception enable us to gain a new perspective on the analogy between body and structure. While exposing the traditional analogy's static and one-sided limitations, the article proposes the perspective of incorporating bodily experience dimensions into structural design considerations based on neuroscience. The article also emphasises the importance of collaboration with all disciplines in the structural design process from a biological standpoint, with the goal of refining and enriching the analogy between structure and body, thus complementing and refining the artistic and human dimensions of structural design from a body perspective.
Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 2023
With increased interest in materials and construction in the architectural field, the use of buil... more With increased interest in materials and construction in the architectural field, the use of building structure as the element of architectural expression has gained interest in recent years. In his analysis of contemporary Swiss architecture, Arthur Rüegg has coined the notion of "Strong Structures" for the tendency to activate a load-bearing structure for spatial and conceptual expression. The article applies this notion to the works of renowned Japanese architect Kazuo Shinohara, who has influenced many prominent Swiss figures in the debate over "Strong Structures." By conducting phenomenological research on his experimental practices in House in White, Tanikawa House, and House in Uehara, the article examines how Shinohara used the organisation of structural elements and relations to express the architectural and cultural context. Finally, by contrasting the structural design methods used in Switzerland and Japan, this article aims to introduce a relational structure design mindset in order to complement and extend the concept of "Strong Structures", which can enrich structural design by focusing on the art of structural relations.
With the belief that architecture is a structure-generated space, the structure must be able to p... more With the belief that architecture is a structure-generated space, the structure must be able to produce or shape every kind of space – including physical and abstract spaces. Starting with Kazuo Shinohara’s structural thinking, through the research of philosophical and physiological theory and many building projects, the thesis seeks to propose a relational-structure approach which could con-tribute to a rethinking and rereading of physical and abstract context, and extends the meaning of building structural design
Buildings
This paper illustrates the design and fabrication process of the temporary installation The Canop... more This paper illustrates the design and fabrication process of the temporary installation The Canopy, developed as part of the fib Symposium on Conceptual Design of Structures 2021. The geometry of the perforated hanging membrane that forms The Canopy is the result of seamless integration between the disciplines of architecture and structural design, which was one of the driving inputs for the entire process. Particularly, the use of geometry-based models and graphic statics allowed activating the interplay between these disciplines. This was the key to balancing the relationship between architectural spaces and structural requirements, and to informing the multifaceted design exploration of The Canopy from conceptual design to construction.
Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022
The analogy between the human body and architectural structures dates all the way back to ancient... more The analogy between the human body and architectural structures dates all the way back to ancient times and has significantly shaped the design of buildings and structures. The article examines the body's historical influence on how structures are perceived and designed, demonstrating how the body shapes the “technical truth” dimension of structural design while oblivious to the importance of an “artistic truth” or perceptual dimension. This article aims to connect recent neuroscience findings and their implications for structural design through graphic statics and its design methods. Finally, this article proposes an equilibrium-based structural design approach for designing embodied structures based on graphic statics.
Architecture, Structures and Construction, 2022
Structural art should not be marginalised as an integral part of structural design. By reviewing ... more Structural art should not be marginalised as an integral part of structural design. By reviewing historical understandings of structural art, this article discusses the ambiguous and neglected perspective of structural art on architectural design and human perception dimensions, concentrating the attention of structural art on the question of human aesthetic perception. Based on significant changes in how art is perceived due to recent neuroaesthetics research, this article introduces recent findings from cognitive neuroscience regarding embodied perception principles, sheds new light on the aesthetic experiences inherent in the built environment, and clarifies and expands previously held beliefs about structural art. Finally, while emphasising the significance of structural art, this article attempts to provide a body-informed perspective on structural art that can aid in incorporating human neuroaesthetic perception principles during the conceptual phase of the structural design p...
International fib Symposium - Conceptual Design of Structures 2021, 2021
The paper attempts to provide a neuroscientific perspective on the discussion of structural expre... more The paper attempts to provide a neuroscientific perspective on the discussion of structural expression. Taking human perception as the clue, this article starts with the notion of strong structures, take it as the base to review and analyses the principles of structural perception under the neurophysiological perspective. Based on the findings from mirror neuron and embodied simulation, this article further reviewed the impact of embodied structural ambivalence on structural expression and human perception from the concrete example to the theoretical implication. Therefore provides a neuroscience-based scientific perspective on the research of structural expression.
Uploads
Papers by Shuaizhong Wang