Technoledge Glass Structures

In many famous architectural works, it is the structure and materiality of the building that manifest the project's innovation. In such works, the structural system of the building becomes the primary form of expression. Ergo, the ability to understand the principles of structural engineering and design, and the motivation to experiment with new types of structures and materials are invaluable assets for both architects and structural engineers.

Towards this goal, this elective aims to bridge the gap between architects and structural engineers and familiarize students with the basic and some advanced skills required to successfully design structures via the design, construction detailing and structural verification of a column-free, long-span structure made primarily of glass (including for its load-bearing structure).

The use of a novel, non-conventional structural material like glass highlights the need for integrated thinking when designing a structure, having to take into account not only the strength of the material when dimensioning the individual elements, but also limitations linked to its manufacturing and processing processes and the need for redundancy in the design. Besides the structural verification, special attention is given to the assembly order of the structure, as well as on the design of the key connections to be visually discreet and most importantly, allow for the desired load transfer.

The course evolves around the (structural) design assignment, which is done in groups of (max.) 4 students (3 BT students and 1 student from another track). Each year the design assignment is different: previous examples include the design of a full-glass conservatory in the Kew Gardens in UK, of a full-glass observatory for the Aurora Borealis in Iceland, of a transparent protective shelter for the temple of Hagar Qim in Malta and of a glass museum for the Khufu boat in Egypt. The students are asked to develop their own design solution and apply to it the fundamentals of long-span structures and structural glass, which are introduced through a series of lectures. The development of the design is guided during the weekly studio sessions by one-to-one consultations with the instructors. The consultations during studio sessions, as well as the workshops and lectures, tackle the following aspects of the structural design solutions: architectural and structural design, built-up of components, assembly sequence of the structure, risk analysis, design of connections, sustainability and structural verification through numerical modelling and/or hand calculations.

During the course, the students give 3 presentations: one on their initial design idea, a mid-term presentation and a final presentation. Through these presentations the students can receive formative feedback from all tutors as well as from their peers on their work. The final assessment of the students' work is based on their design progress, final presentation and final report.