Timber Gridshell Architecture

From the earliest days of humanity, when huts were built of branches covered in animal skins, gridded timber construction has been the basis for simple, flexible and practical structures. Despite this long history gridshells have not been used widely in architecture, but starting with the experimental work by Otto Frei in the 1960s and 1970s, the 21st Century has seen the first major gridshell buildings designed and built.

At a time when sustainable approaches in design are becoming increasingly important, the opportunity to save material by using an efficient structural system is essential. Gridshells constructed out of timber offer a great opportunity for material saving, as clear span grids are formed by the three-dimensional system of mutually supporting load-bearing structures.

This three-dimensionality also has an architectural/spatial implication, and gridshells offer the opportunity of creating distinct three-dimensional architectural forms. The structural and aesthetic aspects of the form are inextricably bound up in one another.

Timber Gridshell Architecture explains the history of gridshells, the essentials of how the structural system works and can be adapted, and shows how the nature of that structural system contributes to the architectural expression and spatial qualities of the designed buildings. The authors explore the advantages - and disadvantages - of gridshells, and how architects and designers can get the most out of this most ancient and most modern of built forms.