ETH Zürich  |  DARCH  |  ITA  |  Structural Design 
Force Material Form: The History of Structural Design

Formwandel

Robert Maillart: Power Station, Barcelona, 1917

How and where do structural ideas emerge? How do conceptions of structural forms differ at different times?
The course explores the relationship between inner force flow, materialization of form, and design idea. Different aspects of the changes in our understanding of form in architecture will be studied in depth, e.g. the establishment of specific forms in relation to building materials, the advances in scientific description of inner force flow and related question of optimization, or the use of physical and digital experiments in the search for architectural form. Goal of the investigation is becoming acquainted with important historic references and their meaning for contemporary questions of design. The course comprises input lectures from the lecturers, short presentations from the students, a guest lecture, and an excursion.

last modified 15.8.2017