Italian Workshop on
Shell and Spatial Structures
Sigrid Adriaenssens
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton UniversityBiography
Sigrid Adriaenssens’ research interests lie in the mechanics of large-span structural surfaces under construction and extreme loading. From storm surge membrane barriers to macroscale adaptive shading shell devices, she has innovated a range of structural and architectural systems. The framework she is developing combines advanced analytical formulations, numerical form-finding and optimization approaches, fluid-structure interaction, and machine learning models to accelerate discoveries and automate optimal designs. In her cross-disciplinary work, Sigrid has initiate Form Finding Lab and nurtured collaborations with researchers from diverse fields, including computer and material science, biology, robotics, architecture, philosophy, art history, visual arts, graphic design and choreography. She is the co-editor of the International Journal of Space Structures, a fellow of the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and vice-president of the International Association of Shell and Spatial Structures. A 2023 Myron Goldsmith Fellow at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Sigrid has also received the DigitalFUTURES Matthias Rippmann Award from Tongji University, Shanghai, and the Pioneers Award from the Spatial Structures Research Centre of the University of Surrey, U.K. As a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University, Sigrid directs the Form Finding Lab, teaching courses on the (non-)linear mechanics of solids and slender structures, structural design, and the integration of engineering and the arts.
How shell we build now?
The dome of the Maria del Fiore (1472, Florence, Italy, Filippo Brunelleschi) might have been built using self-balancing mechanics without shoring and formwork. In self-balancing, a shape (shell) spontaneously emerges from local interactions between elements (bricks) without external support. We leveraged the potential of self-balancing mechanics in the assembly of medium scale masonry vaults. With viewpoints of gardens and buildings, and with clearance heights as constraints, we used state-of-the-art form finding techniques to generate visually appealing and structurally efficient shapes that fit within their historic site contexts and that can be assembled using self-balancing mechanics. The ground-breaking potential of self-balancing assembly is to efficiently use materials and reduce solid waste during construction. We also developed a novel digital/analog self-balancing construction approach for the craft-based practice of the manual masonry vault-assembly. To overcome time efficiency and costs of on-site work related to the manual construction of complex masonry geometries, we imbued this analog practice with mechanics-based, data-driven models and augmented visual reality . Augmented Reality lends itself well to the physical construction of complex forms because it accurately overlays digital models upon the real site environment of the grounds with the limited hardware of a headset worn by the mason. Our assemblies demonstrate the potential of self-balancing as a sustainable construction approach realized through augmented reality.