Performance-Driven Design of a Reciprocal Frame Canopy – Timber structure of the FutureTree

Abstract

This paper presents the design process of a recently built, 107 m2 free-form timber frame canopy. The structure is an irregular, funnel-shaped reciprocal frame resting on a central concrete column, and has been fabricated using a robot-based assembly process. The project addresses several known design and fabrication challenges: modelling of free-form reciprocal frames, complex interrelations between their geometry and structural behaviour, as well as develops custom software tools to represent different models and interface design and structural analysis environments. The performance-driven design is exemplified by studies on the relationship between geometric parameters of the reciprocal frame and the resulting force-flow and flexural stiffness of the structure. The final design is obtained by differentiating geometry and stiffness to reduce deflection and tensile stresses while observing fabrication constraints.The project demonstrates the application of computational design to create customized, performance-driven and robotically fabricated structures, and its successful realization validates the methods under real-life planning and construction conditions.