Papers by Jaime Sanchez-Alvarez
International Journal of Space Structures, 2017
The emblematic entrance pavilion for the Expo 2017 in Astana is the so-called ‘Sphere’, which wit... more The emblematic entrance pavilion for the Expo 2017 in Astana is the so-called ‘Sphere’, which with its 80-m diameter is worldwide the largest closed sphere completely covered with glass. The continuous external surface of the Sphere was designed to be built with spherically curved glass panels of parallelogramic shape. The panels are fixed at their perimeter to a structural grid of bent round tubes of steel. This secondary grid is fixed in turn to a coarser primary structural grid at evenly spaced supports. The purpose of this article is to give insight into the constructive geometry design of the Sphere. One of the main targets of ‘geometric design for production’ is to specify the geometry of a construction in such a way that fabrication and installation procedures can be simplified and carried out with a minimum of effort, cost and time. The main measure for the Sphere was to simplify the basic grid by replacing all original three-dimensional free-form curves with series of inter...
Formex algebra is a mathematical system that may be used in the representation and processing of ... more Formex algebra is a mathematical system that may be used in the representation and processing of any sort of configuration, where 'configuration' is a term used to refer to a collection of any kind of entities. The algebraic system is modelled on requirements of data processing in engineering structural analysis. The primary aim is to provide a means for solution of problems related to the arrangement and disposition of constituent entities of structural systems, such as members, joints, loads and constraints. The basic approach is to represent the interconnection pattern of a structural configuration by a formex and then use this formex as a basic skeleton to which other aspects of the system, such as material properties and geometric particulars, may be related. The present work examines the concepts of formex algebra and makes a contribution in the practical aspect of formulating formices representing interconnection patterns of structural configurations. Also, because ge...
International Journal of Space Structures, 2022
The Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, has probably the largest greenhouse complex in the world, compr... more The Eden Project in Cornwall, UK, has probably the largest greenhouse complex in the world, comprehending eight interconnected spherical geodesic domes. The geometric design and optimisation of the double-layered spherical structures focused primarily on the hexagonal grids of the external dome surfaces, where optimisation consisted of minimising the number of component types, being these components, faces, line lengths and angle combinations at grid nodes. The present article reviews the general geometric definition of the Eden Domes and elaborates, for the first time since the domes design around the year 2000, on their geometric optimisation. The results of this rationalisation are presented in colour images, which were produced with state-of-the-art (2021) software tools 20 years after the design development. The images reveal the geometric "economy"-here, the extreme reduction of geometric component types-and the high symmetrical order of these structural configurations. The aim of the present paper is to present the thorough geometric specification of the Eden Domes in a single document that answers in detail the question of how the Eden Domes grids were geometrically constructed.
INTRODUCTION Geometry can be used as an abstract tool to describe and represent the form and the ... more INTRODUCTION Geometry can be used as an abstract tool to describe and represent the form and the structure of physical objects, such as the supporting and cladding systems of architectural envelopes and engineering structures. In the computer based context of building design, elements of Geometry, such as points, lines and surfaces assume the tangible nature of a physical tool and they lend the designer means to draw and generate virtual models of an object for the various tasks leading to its materialization. For instance, the geometrical model containing the metric and topological properties of a structure or a cladding system provides the system’s description for structural analysis and also the basis for construction detailing and fabrication. Due to their unconventional free-form and their complex constitution and size, the two domelike envelopes designed by the Singaporean office DP-Architects for the new centre for the performing arts at the place called The Esplanade in Sing...
Zaha Hadid Architects designed a complex free-form envelope to house the new Heydar Aliyev Cultur... more Zaha Hadid Architects designed a complex free-form envelope to house the new Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan. The cultural centre comprises a library, an auditorium and a museum together with other complementary facilities. The architectural space envelope is double layered, that is, it consists of an external and an internal skin with a variable distance in between. A special requirement for the appearance of the cladding panels is the paths of their intermediate joints, which visibly run parallel in one direction, thus accentuating the smoothness of the surface and suggesting a natural flow. The present paper discusses and illustrates how visual, architectural and constructional requirements posed very demanding conditions for designing and modelling the MERO-TSK space structure, which is the actual structural system not only supporting the space envelopes, but a convenient form-giving construction basis to materialise their cladding surfaces.
Space …, 2002
The structural making of the Eden Domes K. KNEBEL, J. SANCHEZ-ALVAREZ, S. ZIMMERMANN MERO GmbH & ... more The structural making of the Eden Domes K. KNEBEL, J. SANCHEZ-ALVAREZ, S. ZIMMERMANN MERO GmbH & Co. KG, D-97084 Wurzburg, Germany INTRODUCTION In the spring of 2001, on the south-western tip of England in Cornwall, the Eden Project was opened to ...
Stahlbau
The emblematic entrance pavilion designed by the architects AS+GG (Chicago) for the Expo 2017 "Fu... more The emblematic entrance pavilion designed by the architects AS+GG (Chicago) for the Expo 2017 "Future Energy" in Astana is the so called "Sphere", which with its 80 meters diameter is the largest sphere in the world completely covered with glass. The German company Lindner Steel & Glass obtained the contract for the detailed design of the Sphere's cladding comprising the spherical area, the cable net region and the interface areas with other parts of the whole construction. The company was also responsible for the secondary structure supporting the glazing, its fabrication and the assembly of the construction on site. The present paper deals in particular with the Sphere und it gives insight into its geometry, structural analysis, cladding, fabrication and assembly.
Stahlbau, 2004
Bei einigen bekannten Bauwerken der letzten Jahre, beispielsweise bei der DG-Bank in Berlin (Arch... more Bei einigen bekannten Bauwerken der letzten Jahre, beispielsweise bei der DG-Bank in Berlin (Architekt: Frank Gehry), dem Arts Center in Singapur (Architekt: Vikas Gore), dem Britischen Museum in London (Architekt: Norman Foster) oder kürzlich den Glasdächern über der Zentralachse und dem Servicezentrum der Neuen Messe in Mailand (Architekt: Massimiliano Fuksas), sind Freiformflächen zunehmend für Gebäudehüllen eingesetzt worden. Der folgende Aufsatz befaßt sich mit den geometrischen Aspekten und den mit der praktischen Umsetzung dieser Bauarten verbundenen Problemen. Es werden insbesondere eine Vielzahl verschiedener Knotenkonstruktionen vorgestellt, ohne die Stabstrukturen für Freiformflächen nicht realisierbar wären. Reticulated Structures on Free-Form Surfaces. Promoted by buildings like the DG-Bank in Berlin (Architect: Frank Gehry), the Arts Center in Singapore (Architect: Vikas Gore), the British Museum in London (Architect: Norman Foster) and recently the New Fair in Milan (Architect: Massimiliano Fuksas) with its roofs above the Central Axis and the Service Center, free-form envelopes have become more and more popular in recent years. The paper is a brief review of the geometrical and the corresponding structural problems related to the design of those structures. In particular, a number of node connector types are described, which are essential for the realization of reticulated structures on free-form surfaces. wähnte grundlegende Klassifikation von Flächen anhand der Größe der totalen oder Gaußschen Krümmung wurde von Gheorghiu und Dragomir in [4] für baupraktische Anwendungen vorgeschlagen. Gemäß [4] sollte die weitere Feinklassifizierung anhand der Generierungsmethode der Flächen vorgenommen werden (Bild 2). Flächen können mit geometrischen oder nichtgeometrischen Verfahren generiert werden. Bei letzterem Verfahren wird die Geometrie mit Hilfe von formgebenden Medien wie Gravitationskraft, Überdruck oder Vorspannung erzeugt. Ein für baupraktische Anwendungen bewährtes Verfahren zur Beschreibung von Flä
International Journal of Space Structures, 2017
1. Introductory Abstract A renowned architectural office designed an emblematic pavilion with a c... more 1. Introductory Abstract A renowned architectural office designed an emblematic pavilion with a central spherical building-here referred to as "the Sphere"-rising approximately 90 m above ground level. The continuous external surface of the Sphere has a diameter of 80 meters and it was designed to be built with spherically curved glass panels of parallelogramic shape. The panels are fixed at their perimeter to a congruent reticulated substructure of bent round tubes of steel. This secondary grid is fixed in turn to a coarser primary structural grid at regularly spaced support points. The primary spherical grid is the external subsystem of the complex support core of steel columns, steel beams and composite concrete floor slabs of the main pavilion. At the upper pole region, the Sphere has a horizontal wedge-shaped opening to accommodate two wind turbines. This opening is closed at its base by a glazed saddled surface which is supported by a cable net. Fig.1 shows the main subsystems forming the spherical building and its overall dimensions. The task for the technical team was to design in full detail the construction of the secondary steel structure supporting the glazing, including the interfaces with both, the interior primary structure and the exterior spherical glass elements. The purpose of the present paper is to show how a) the simplification of the architects' geometric design on the spherical surface and b) the application of conical systems inherent in the sphere lead to a consistent, practical and straightforward geometric basis, which substantially simplified the construction detailing and the implementation of fabrication and assembly of the glazed envelope. It should be mentioned, that the detailed specification of the construction had to be set up for low to mid-automated, that is, by no means fully NC-controlled, fabrication facilities. 2. Simplification of the glazing grid geometry: Arc vs Spline One of the main targets of "geometric design for production" is to specify the geometry of a construction in such a way that fabrication and installation procedures can be simplified and carried out with a minimum of effort, cost and time. In the case of a construction made out of congruent or similar structural and cladding subsystems, such as the here treated Sphere, the natural approach is to take maximum advantage of the omni-directional symmetry of this surface in the detailed design of the typical construction components. In other words, one strives to achieve the maximum repetition of an inventory of basic components or construction subsystems. Here, the basic tiling of the external spherical surface germinally conditions the degree of repetition of all construction subsystems and components. The architectural design subdivided the external spherical surface with two sets of curves, namely, horizontal circular rings and vertical sinusoidal meridians, as shown in Fig. 2. The subdivision of the Sphere with horizontal circular rings was primarily determined by the horizontal floor slabs of the support core, most of them, at every 9 meters. The primary spherical band in between two floor slabs was then further subdivided in four parallel spherical belts by three, regularly spaced, secondary horizontal rings.
Books by Jaime Sanchez-Alvarez
Draft, 2020
The Mero Legacy: Two engineers recall the progress made in the construction of space structures.
... more The Mero Legacy: Two engineers recall the progress made in the construction of space structures.
The objective of this report is the documentation of some notable achievements in the design and construction of space trusses and space frames, which are special classes of lightweight structures. The selected examples are embedded in a history that starts with the English greenhouses of the 19th century, such as the London Crystal Palace from 1853, and leads to the free form structures of the 21st century, such as the Singapore Arts Centre from 2002 (see chapter Cladding).
The authors were involved in design and construction development as Mero* employees for a period of about 30 years, starting 1970 and 1980, respectively. Chronologically, this period reaches from the mere introduction of computers in structural analysis to the sophisticated interactive computer aided design (CAD/CAM) systems and the modelling of 3D geometry for production at the turn of the millennium.
* Mero is a pioneer company specialist in design and construction os spatial structures.
open, 2020
The objective of this report is the documentation of some notable achievements in the design and ... more The objective of this report is the documentation of some notable achievements in the design and construction of space trusses and space frames, which are special classes of lightweight structures. The selected examples are embedded in a history that starts with the English greenhouses of the 19th century, such as the London Crystal Palace from 1853, and leads to the free form structures of the 21st century, such as the Singapore Arts Centre from 2002 (see chapter Cladding).
The authors were involved in design and construction development as Mero* employees for a period of about 30 years, starting 1970 and 1980, respectively. Chronologically, this period reaches from the mere introduction of computers in structural analysis to the sophisticated interactive computer aided design (CAD/CAM) systems and the modelling of 3D geometry for production at the turn of the millennium.
Nevertheless, basic analysis tools, such as the “continuum analogy”, will be discussed, since they can be helpful at the initial design phase as well as for checking the reliability of results produced with computer programs. The discussion of the geometrical basis for the design of space structures will be particularly comprehensive, starting with the so-called Platonic Polyhedrons up to the current available modelling software tools such as Rhinoceros (also Rhino). In any case, knowledge of basic Euclidian geometry is a necessary precondition to use the mentioned tools efficiently.
Other important aspects of this report are the qualitative discussion of the load carrying behavior of space trusses and space frames, their structural layout and their dimensioning. Further subjects are cladding and construction or assembly, both having a major influence on the design of the structural layout.
The fundament of this report, beside the experience of the authors, is a seminar for Master-students that was held at the University of Darmstadt and which began in 2011 with the participation of the authors. The authors thank Prof. Schneider and his team for converting the Seminar Power Point presentation into an initial draft of this report. It must be noted that this document, more than a teaching text, is meant to be an inspiration for architects and engineers for their own work in the field of lightweight space structures and last not least to maintain the knowledge that was accumulated by mero in the above mentioned period of time.
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Papers by Jaime Sanchez-Alvarez
Books by Jaime Sanchez-Alvarez
The objective of this report is the documentation of some notable achievements in the design and construction of space trusses and space frames, which are special classes of lightweight structures. The selected examples are embedded in a history that starts with the English greenhouses of the 19th century, such as the London Crystal Palace from 1853, and leads to the free form structures of the 21st century, such as the Singapore Arts Centre from 2002 (see chapter Cladding).
The authors were involved in design and construction development as Mero* employees for a period of about 30 years, starting 1970 and 1980, respectively. Chronologically, this period reaches from the mere introduction of computers in structural analysis to the sophisticated interactive computer aided design (CAD/CAM) systems and the modelling of 3D geometry for production at the turn of the millennium.
* Mero is a pioneer company specialist in design and construction os spatial structures.
The authors were involved in design and construction development as Mero* employees for a period of about 30 years, starting 1970 and 1980, respectively. Chronologically, this period reaches from the mere introduction of computers in structural analysis to the sophisticated interactive computer aided design (CAD/CAM) systems and the modelling of 3D geometry for production at the turn of the millennium.
Nevertheless, basic analysis tools, such as the “continuum analogy”, will be discussed, since they can be helpful at the initial design phase as well as for checking the reliability of results produced with computer programs. The discussion of the geometrical basis for the design of space structures will be particularly comprehensive, starting with the so-called Platonic Polyhedrons up to the current available modelling software tools such as Rhinoceros (also Rhino). In any case, knowledge of basic Euclidian geometry is a necessary precondition to use the mentioned tools efficiently.
Other important aspects of this report are the qualitative discussion of the load carrying behavior of space trusses and space frames, their structural layout and their dimensioning. Further subjects are cladding and construction or assembly, both having a major influence on the design of the structural layout.
The fundament of this report, beside the experience of the authors, is a seminar for Master-students that was held at the University of Darmstadt and which began in 2011 with the participation of the authors. The authors thank Prof. Schneider and his team for converting the Seminar Power Point presentation into an initial draft of this report. It must be noted that this document, more than a teaching text, is meant to be an inspiration for architects and engineers for their own work in the field of lightweight space structures and last not least to maintain the knowledge that was accumulated by mero in the above mentioned period of time.
The objective of this report is the documentation of some notable achievements in the design and construction of space trusses and space frames, which are special classes of lightweight structures. The selected examples are embedded in a history that starts with the English greenhouses of the 19th century, such as the London Crystal Palace from 1853, and leads to the free form structures of the 21st century, such as the Singapore Arts Centre from 2002 (see chapter Cladding).
The authors were involved in design and construction development as Mero* employees for a period of about 30 years, starting 1970 and 1980, respectively. Chronologically, this period reaches from the mere introduction of computers in structural analysis to the sophisticated interactive computer aided design (CAD/CAM) systems and the modelling of 3D geometry for production at the turn of the millennium.
* Mero is a pioneer company specialist in design and construction os spatial structures.
The authors were involved in design and construction development as Mero* employees for a period of about 30 years, starting 1970 and 1980, respectively. Chronologically, this period reaches from the mere introduction of computers in structural analysis to the sophisticated interactive computer aided design (CAD/CAM) systems and the modelling of 3D geometry for production at the turn of the millennium.
Nevertheless, basic analysis tools, such as the “continuum analogy”, will be discussed, since they can be helpful at the initial design phase as well as for checking the reliability of results produced with computer programs. The discussion of the geometrical basis for the design of space structures will be particularly comprehensive, starting with the so-called Platonic Polyhedrons up to the current available modelling software tools such as Rhinoceros (also Rhino). In any case, knowledge of basic Euclidian geometry is a necessary precondition to use the mentioned tools efficiently.
Other important aspects of this report are the qualitative discussion of the load carrying behavior of space trusses and space frames, their structural layout and their dimensioning. Further subjects are cladding and construction or assembly, both having a major influence on the design of the structural layout.
The fundament of this report, beside the experience of the authors, is a seminar for Master-students that was held at the University of Darmstadt and which began in 2011 with the participation of the authors. The authors thank Prof. Schneider and his team for converting the Seminar Power Point presentation into an initial draft of this report. It must be noted that this document, more than a teaching text, is meant to be an inspiration for architects and engineers for their own work in the field of lightweight space structures and last not least to maintain the knowledge that was accumulated by mero in the above mentioned period of time.