ABSTRACT
Nowadays, it is possible to design a building with any shape or form. Since the advent of computers and CAD/CAM programs, the designers have the tools, technologies and techniques that allow them to erect buildings that would not have been feasible in the past. Nonetheless, designing buildings with computer-generated forms is a task that is still quite complex and where things might go wrong very easily. Advanced computer calculations might help the structural engineer but, more than that, the solution for every structural problem should be as simple as possible. In the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, designed together with Amanda Levete Architects, we used two “old methods” from the past: the grid of J.N.L. Durand, which helped us to rationally tame a very complex geometry, and Cullman’s graphical statics, which allowed us to design an arch that replaced a big truss that could have weakened the architectural experience of space. This proves that old methods, which by its simplicity might seem neglectful at contemporary practices, still hold their ground and might help us to design better structures and architectural spaces.
