In the 10 day workshop from Alberto Pugnale and Sofia Colabella at the Nanjing University, karamba was implemented as a tool to develop the form and optimise the geometry of gridshells.
Material, structure and form are integrated in nature, because in her inventions, as Leonardo explains, nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous. Birds’ eggs are an example of this kind. They are continuous thin shells, in which all the forces are transferred along the surface because of their specific form. They represent an efficient structural form. They are sustainable by nature. Steel or timber gridshells are the same thing, but transparent. Membrane action is preserved through a clear grid of beams, and the amount of material implied for construction is reduced. Contemporary gridshells are sustainable by design.
In both cases, double-curvature is the key. ‘Form-finding’ is the process to get it. This is the theoretical framework of “How to make things lighter”, a 10-day design studio upon parametric design, form-finding, optimisation, technology and fabrication of shells and gridshells, which will be delivered as a series of 1-day long workshops.
Xu Wentao, Liu Chen, Tian Jinhua, Zheng Wei
Chen Lingjie, Sun Yaxian, TanJian, Xu Yan
Chen Xiuyuan, Xu Siheng, Wu Shengyi, Zhang Mingjie
Wu Tingting, Peng Ruihan, Jiao Hongbin, Luo guojian, Han Shuyuan
Lian Yinghao, Zhang Cong, Yao Chenyang, Zhang Jin
Instructors: Dr. Alberto Pugnale & Dr Sofia Colabella, coordinated by Prof Tong Ziyu, and supported by the Dean Prof Ding Wowo