Vertical Net Structures
DRX 2013
The focus on “Vertical Net Structures” for the DRX 2013 was a continuation of last year’s investigation into innovative structures for the design of high-rise buildings. Driven by the increasing demand for supertall buildings, we developed integral structures that define interesting interior spaces through controlled articulation without compromising the integrity of the system. Questions of structure, circulation and program distribution had to be addressed in a prototypical building of approximately 450 meter height.
The aim was to understand forces as vectors in order to develop 3-dimensional spatial nets. These systems were developed and based on profound research in various areas such as high-rise structural systems, natural systems as well as form-finding techniques. Throughout the DRX, these systems were further informed and transformed into highly constrained, feasible proposals for tall buildings.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Bobenko is a professor of Mathematics at the Technische Universität Berlin. He graduated the Leningrad State University in 1983 and received his PhD from the Steklov Mathematical Institute, St. Petersburg in 1985. After spending two years in Bonn and Berlin as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, Bobenko became a professor of TU Berlin in 1993.
Link: VaryLab
Christoph Gengnagel studied civil engineering at the Bauhaus University Weimar and received his diploma in 1992. In 2005, he received his PhD, focusing on Mobile Membrane Structures at the TU Munich. In 2012, Gengnagel was appointed the first Vice President of the Arts Berlin. Gengnagel is also part of the advisory committee of the Design Modelling Symposium.
Links: UdK Berlin / Design Modelling Symposium
Mirco Becker founded informance in 2012 in Berlin, Germany. As a Senior Associate Partner at Kohn Pedersen Fox, Becker has previously led their Computational Geometry Group. Other experiences include working with the Specialist Modelling Group at Foster & Partners, and delivering as a Project Architect with Zaha Hadid Architects. Mirco Becker is a Guest Professor at the Städelschule Architecture Class leading the post graduate specialization in Architecture and Performative Design.
Links: Informance Design / Staedelschule Frankfurt