Parametric design of building structures in cooperation with architects : Usage and evaluation of structural plug-ins in 3D visualisation software

Abstract: Architectural and structural design process are closely connected but traditionally done in twoseparate steps in the design process. This requires effective coordination between the two disciplinesand without the right tools problems often arise.The thesis was done by support from structural engineers at Tyréns and in collaboration with astudent from the department of architecture. The aim of the thesis was to investigate if the use ofparametric design tools from both architects and structural engineers could be a way of making thedesign process more effective. This thesis also include test the structural plug-ins of the parametricdesign tools and compare them with the outputs from traditional structural software and handcalculations.The comparison was made for different cases followed by a collaboration project. The cases wastargeting different structural features which in turn gave the knowledge needed to develop thecollaboration project.The case studies consists of five cases where the first two gives an introduction to parametricmodelling. The third case is a steel beam with fully restrained supports loaded by two pointloads. It will compare the displacement calculations between the different software. The next caseis a concrete slab with different supports along edges loaded by a uniformly load. The analysisincludes calculation and evaluation of section forces. The final case is a concrete dome. It is builtup by arches and five supports. The analysis of this case includes calculation and evaluation of thedisplacement.The collaboration project is a concrete structure built up by a curved surface lifted by curvedcolumns. The architect worked with the structure in parallel to this this thesis and targeted thedevelopment process whilst the authors targeted the structural parts and at the same time gavestructural insight to the architect.The results show a difference between the parametric structural tools and the traditional FEsoftware regarding deformation and moments. The hand calculations in the collaboration projectshow that the amount of reinforcement will not work with the given inputs and assumptions dueto practical reasons regarding spacing.The possibility to export models from the parametric environment to traditional engineering software’senables a faster analysis, since the modelling capabilities is limited and time-consumingin these. The structural capabilities of the parametric tools are good enough for deciding initialgeometry and properties but these will probably change when subjected to an more extensiveanalysis.