ABSTRACT
Construction and design are inexorably linked. Traditional building methodologies are comprised of a series of material layers differentiated from each other - a tectonic separation of distinct building envelopes (skins) which are separate from the structure. However, from a material performance position that relies on additional materials, this is not an efficient strategy for building on a site.
By contrast, if we look back at the history of airplane and boat manufacturing industries, we see significant transformations in the relationship between structure and skin. For example, the history of boat construction transformed from Indigenous practices of birch bark canoes to the use of copper sheathing over wood by non-Indigenous settlers, in the late 18th century (Gordon 1991), which improved those vessels’ performance in waterways. This was the beginning of the composite assembly approach that drives the industry today. Monocoque, meaning ‘single shell’, is a structural system which supports loads and transfers them through an external enclosure system. In 1911, Swiss engineer Emile Ruchonnet designed the first wood monocoque structure for an airplane called the Cigare (Cooper n.d.), which had wing and tail assemblies that consisted of thin, lightweight, and often woven, fabric skin, stretched tightly over a wooden frame. This stretched skin concept has since evolved into semi-monocoque construction, in which the skin merges with structural fins able to withstand additional forces, thus providing greater strength while using less material.
Monocoque systems have existed largely outside the domain of architecture. However, this union of divergent systems has demonstrated, in the construction of boats and planes, to be lighter and more sustainable, through its use of less material than traditional architectural building practices.
So what can we learn from Monocoque systems as an alternative for traditional building construction practices?
This paper examines the role monocoque systems have played in the lineage of the boat and airplane building industries. It also explores the design potential of monocoque systems for architecture, through the analysis of three building case studies that utilize similar thin shell construction techniques.
