ABSTRACT
Doubly curved lattice shells constructed as glazed canopies become increasingly popular with the introduction of new generation of parametric CAD tools. As architects tend to design their visions of free formed structures the risk of construction capabilities is beyond the recognition of engineer’s experience and intuition. These tools allow designing of arbitrarily curved surfaces, but omitting restrictions of structural design logic. Additionally, the majority of glazed canopies are designed on the base of triangular topology. The authors’ motivation for research is to combine logic of structural design with other, more feasible topologies of lattice shells. This paper describes the relation between elastic curves and surfaces with a design method of doubly curved lattice shells composed of quadrilateral panels preserving their planarity.
