Generation Process and Analysis of Innovative Timberfabric Vaults

Timberfabric structures, developed at IBOIS, are a new family of timber constructions based on the logic and principles of man-made fabrics. Modular elements called “Timberfabric Modules” are generated by curving and connecting two thin wooden panels. This paper concerns the study of vaults obtained by assembling several “Timberfabric modules” together. A parametric tool is presented which can automatically generate a 3D finite element model of a structure for a given set of initial parameters. This tool assists the architectural design of such structures, providing insights into their geometry as well as into the construction stresses and the kinematic constraints between different constitutive elements