rC    Ribbed Catalan

PROJECT DATA

TYPE	PAVILION FABRICATION
LOCATION	SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
CLIENT	UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY
DATE	2012
TEAM	DAVE PIGRAM [UTS] PHILIPPE BLOCK [ETH ZURICH] MELONIE BAYL-SMITH [BIJL ARCHITECTURE] UTS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS
PHOTOS	MICHAEL FORD
AWARDS	WINNER AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS NSW CHAPTER STRUCTURAL INNOVATION IN ARCHITECTURE PRIZE 2013 - COMMENDATION AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS NSW CHAPTER DIGITAL INNOVATION IN ARCHITECTURE PRIZE 2013

Ribbed Catalan

Sydney, Australia

A pavilion made from roof-tiles that combines contemporary computational design techniques with traditional catalan tile vaulting methods to demonstrate a new structural typology. 

Traditional tile vaults are typically constructed springing off from walls or straight arches built from support element to support element on falsework. From these, the vault’s surface can be built in space with minimal or no guidework.

Built on previous research and focusing on continuous surface expression and fully representing three-dimensional equilibrium surfaces in compression, this research explores the design potential of three-dimensional networks of structural ribs, made possible by new funicular form-finding approaches.

This new structural typology for tile vaults was investigated and tested through an intensive, design-build workshop in Australia at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in co-taught by supermanoeuvre’s Dave Pigram with Philippe Block from ETH Zurich and Melonie Bayl-Smith from Bijl Architecture.