RMIT University, also in collaboration with Arup, employed
autonomous design and additive fabrication through the use
of 3D printing for the Smart Nodes Pavilion at the Engineers
Australia Convention, Melbourne, in 2014. Research focused
on improving weight
efficiency
in building materials by using
individually designed nodes unique to their location in
a
structure. Very large-span roofs, like the one built in 2014 at the
Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang, are uniquely sensitive to self-
weight. The weight of the nodes is
a
considerable proportion of
the roof self-weight. Pure weight optimisation of nodes, generally
considered unsustainable in most structures, in this application
kick-starts
a
virtuous cycle: the forces on the structural nodes are
reduced as the nodes are optimised.
Weight
efficiency
is also critical for tensegrity structures.
Arup, researching in collaboration with Altair, WithinLab (now
Autodesk Within) and 3D Systems, and inspired by the design
for
a
lighting installation for the Grote Marktstraat in The
Hague, Netherlands, has explored the design of nodes used in
conjunction with rods and cables. In the first iteration in 2014,
the computer was asked to carry out topological optimisation,
and put the steel only where it was truly needed without
impacting ...
