ABSTRACT
Figure 1. A demonstration of the difference between a thin funicular (left) and the proposed thick funicular (right). The thick funicular is able to accommodate the same bottom-geometry without the use of a compression rod. Thin-shell compression-only structural systems are relatively new to the built environment. Compression-only structures on the other hand are ancient. Thin-shell structures assume a minimal and consistent cross-section. This assumption is driven by material efficiency. The results are forms developed exclusively by structural concerns (typically gravity), hence the term formfound. Architecture has to respond to structural concerns, but it also has to address a variety of other issues-acoustic, form, program, etc. It is not necessary for form to be driven strictly by structural requirements. For example, Gothic Cathedrals contain the thrust-vector within the variable depth of the stone’s cross-section. These Cathedrals are not determined by idealized catenary form, but through a confluence of architectural desires with compression-only principles. With this approach as inspiration, this paper addresses the potentials of compression-only systems to be resolved through a variable-depth in order to obtain a desired form.
