AIRSHELL - Bending timber with air

MSD PhD student Alessandro Liuti completed the construction of AIRSHELL, the first timber gridshell structure ever formed by means of a pneumatic formwork.
Gridshells derive their lightness and strength from combining material and geometric properties into a form-resistant structure.

Inspired by the work of Frei Otto and Dante Bini, this new system combines the use of an inflatable membrane and an Arduino board - the former used as a dynamic formwork, the latter to monitor the height of the structure and the membrane pressure throughout the forming process.

AIRSHELL was conceived by integrating digital design techniques with small-scale prototypes, which helped simulating, prior to construction, the technology and behaviour of the system.

The project was supervised by Dr Alberto Pugnale (http://www.albertopugnale.com/) and Dr Toong-Khuan Chan at the Melbourne School of Design.

Manufacturing and prototyping were developed in collaboration with:
Prof Alessandra Zanelli (Politecnico Milano / Textiles Hub) http://www.textilearchitecture.polimi...
Prof Sergio Pone (University of Naples Federico II / Faculty of Architecture / Gridshell.it) http://www.gridshell.it/
Dr Sofia Colabella (EPFL Lausanne / Gridshell.it) http://www.gridshell.it/

Other technical partners include:
Serge Ferrari http://en.sergeferrari.com/
Grottaroli Wood Engineering Solutions http://www.grottaroli.it/
Green2 http://www.greenquadro.it/