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SUMMARY:Exploiting Structural Indeterminacy:Free-form unreinforced stone s
 hells - Dr. Philippe Block (Assistant Professor in Building Structure\, ET
 H-Zurich)
DTSTART:20101028T160000Z
DTEND:20101028T170000Z
UID:TALK27594@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Nami Norman
DESCRIPTION:This lecture will present a new computational form-finding met
 hod for exploring three-dimensional equilibrium shapes. Through the use of
  intuitive graphical diagrams\, the designer gains control over the explor
 ation of form\, which blurs the boundaries between funicular (compression-
 only) and free-form design. Several projects will demonstrate the power of
  this innovative method applied to the safety assessment of historic vault
 s with complex geometries in unreinforced masonry and to design exploratio
 ns of funicular shapes\, which range from unique signature vaults in cut s
 tone to sustainable construction solutions for developing countries. \n\n 
 \n\nPhilippe Block is a structural engineer and architect and is Assistant
  Professor of Structural Engineering at the ETH-Zurich in Switzerland\, wh
 ere he directs a research group in masonry structures and new structural d
 esign and fabrication approaches (see http://block.arch.ethz.ch/). He stud
 ied architecture and structural engineering at the Free University in Brus
 sels and earned his PhD from MIT in 2009\, where he developed a revolution
 ary computational method for masonry vault assessment and design. For his 
 PhD research\, he was awarded the Hangai Prize from the International Asso
 ciation of Shell and Spatial Structures.\n\n
LOCATION:Engineering Department - **LR4**
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