ARNDT GOLDACK LECTURE – Dynamic Lightweight Structures

Tonight we had the pleasure of hosting at IaaC a Lecture by TU Berlin Researcher Arndt Goldack as part of the Fall Term Lecture Series of 2013.

There is a trend in architecture and structural engineering towards more and more lightweight structures, as such structures are not only elegant but also minimizing the use of material. They are sustainable in the true sense. An inherent feature of lightweight structures is their tendency to be lively. Numerous exciting and breath taking structures such as membrane roofs, cable net structures and cable-supported footbridges have been built and they all require additional engineering efforts, regarding dynamics. Early lightweight footbridges have caused comfort problems for the users. Today engineers have learnt their lessons from several disasters and have included “dynamics” in the curriculum of engineering students. At our chair at the Technical University Berlin (TU Berlin) it has become an important research aspect. Beyond passive tuned mass dampers, investigation on semi-active vibration control will enable us to go beyond present limits towards more lightweight and elegant, more sustainable structures. Read More »

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IAAC trip to FRAC Centre

IAAC staff, students and researchers travelled to Orleans last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to visit the FRAC Centre and participate in the ArchiLab Symposiums “Architecture and sciences: A new naturalness” and “The nature(s) of the artefact”, and here is what they saw!

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OTF Desk Crit with George Jeronimidis

Today the IAAC OTF researchers had the pleasure of a desk crit with Prof. Jeronimidis, checking the development of their projects and helping them with his critics. During the presentations, the researchers discussed their proposals and how these could be further elaborated.

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IAAC Trip to FRAC Centre

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Today IaaC students will be travelling to Orleans to the FRAC Centre to particpate in both ArchiLab’s symposiums “Architecture and sciences: A new naturalness” the 24th October and “The nature(s) of the artefact” the 25th of October.

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Tuesday 29th of October: ARNDT GOLDACK LECTURE – Dynamic Lightweight Structures

goldack-sombra2

Tuesday 29th of October 2013

Arndt Goldack

Lecture: Dynamic Lightweight Structures
@ 19.30, IAAC Auditorium
Open to the Public

Dr.-Ing. Arndt Goldack  was born in 1969 in Stuttgart, Germany. In 1996 he graduated in civil and structural engineering at the University of Stuttgart, and in 2004 Awarded Doctorate (Dr.-Ing.), Thesis “Structural behavior and Bracing of High Rise Tubes for Solar Updraft Towers”.

From 1996 to 2003 he was a Research assistant at the Institute for Structural Design with Prof. Jörg Schlaich and Prof. Werner Sobek, University of Stuttgart.

In 2003 he then commenced as Structural Engineer with schlaich bergermann und partner, Berlin, Stuttgart, until 2011. During this time he contributed to projects in China, Germany, India, Spain, USA:

- Stress ribbon bridge “Slinky springs to fame”, Oberhausen

- Membrane roof for Estadio Madrid La Peineta

- Gänsebachtal Bridge: Integral Bridge for High Speed Trains, length 1001m

- Cable Stayed Bridge crossing Yamuna River in New Delhi, India: span 250m

- Independent Review of the Second Vivekananda Bridge in Kolkata, extradosed bridge

- Lufthansa A380 Service Hall in Frankfurt

- Dynamic design of almost all footbridges by sbp

- Research Project: Design of Lightweight Footbridges for Human Induced Vibrations, Goldack et. al., JRC-ECCS 2009 in cooperation with University of Porto, TU Delft and RWTH Aachen.

Since July 2011 he has been a Researcher at the Chair of Conceptual and Structural Design, TU Berlin, studying the dynamics of bridges, pedestrian induced vibration, experimental modal analysis, lightweight structures, lightweight concrete, structural control.

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GEORGE JERONIMIDIS LECTURE – Biomimetics and Bioinspiration

Tonight we had the pleasure of taking part in the Fall Lecture Series 2013 George Jeronimidis Lecture on Biomimetics and Bioinspiration.

We were invited to think about architecture in relation to biology, for example: plants share many of the same characteristics as buildings, they are fixed in their context, they must accept what nature and the environment throw at them, and they must adapt to survive. How can we learn something from biology, and apply this to the field of architecture?

The first point of the Lecture lead us to understand exactly what Biomimetics is. Prof. Jeronimidis noted that there are ibfact many ideas as to what Biomimetics is, but the one he relates most to is: “the abstraction of good design from nature” (J.F. Vincent).

Biomimesis should aim not to replace biology, but to understand the mechanisms that biology has developed overtime, and understand what we can then use these mechanisms for. Mimesis, not understood as copying, but as abstraction.

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Tuesday 22nd of October: GEORGE JERONIMIDIS LECTURE – Biomimetics and Bioinspiration

George Jeronimidis

Tuesday 22nd of October 2013

George Jeronimidis

Lecture: Biomimetics and Bioinspiration - Smart solutions for functional architecture
@ 19.30, IAAC Auditorium
Open to the Public
 

Professor George Jeronimidis is currently Emeritus Professor of Composite Materials Engineering  and Director of the Centre for Biomimetics in the School of Construction Management at the University of Reading.  In 2009 he became Co-Director of the Emergent Technologies and Design programme at the Architectural Association School of Architecture.  He obtained his doctorate at the University of Rome and moved to the University of Reading in the 1970’s.
His research interests cover the design of composite fibrous structures in biology engineering and architecture to achieve high levels of functional integration.  He has published extensively in the fields of biomechanics, biomimetics, wood science, composite mechanics, smart materials and structures and bio-inspired systems in engineering and architecture.
He is currently on the Editorial Board of the new international journal Virtual and Physical Prototyping, Wood Science and Technology and Biomimetics & Bioinspiration.
In 2009 he was elected President of President of BIOKON International (from 2009), a European Network for the promotion of Biomimetics in relevant sectors (engineering, architecture, built environment, materials, sensors,…). In 2005 he became a Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS) and served as Chairman of the Academy Board of the IAWS from 2010 to 2013.
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