Background and aim:
Masonry/Earthy structures can be made with sustainable materials while offering strong structural properties, especially if designed as compression-only structures. Optimal masonry structures might take complex geometric shapes that present constructability challenges. We aim to develop combinatorial methods for approximating optimal shells with modular blocks.
Research question:
- How to approximate optimal shell structures as an assembly of modular blocks for easy construction?
Design objective:
- To design and prototype a combinatorial process for modular polyhedral shape approximation.
Methods:
- Geometric Design and Tessellation
- Computational Geometry (optionally in Python)
- Structural Design and Mechanics
- Material Science