Fab-Syntax workshop by Fereshteh Ghaffarpoor

Fab-Syntax workshop

Instructors:

Ali Goharian

Hossein Yavari

Fereshteh Ghafarpoor

Guess Lecturers:

Milad Showkatbakhsh

Ramtin Haghnazar

Nils Opgenorth

Teaching Assistants:

Fatemeh Zarei

Shiva Khamizadeh

Fatemeh Moradalian

Year: November 2024

Organizer:

College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran

Dean of Fine Arts, University of Tehran:

Dr Hamed Mazaherian

Manager of Center of Excellence in

Architectural technology:

Azar Mortazavi

Workshop Overview: Fab Syntax

The Fab Syntax workshop held in November 2024 at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, focused on the design and digital fabrication of multi-shell structures. Participants engaged in an intensive program combining theoretical and practical approaches to explore innovative architectural solutions.

Introduction

The resulting configuration is a highly efficient, lightweight structure that offers an optimized balance of strength, adaptability, and material efficiency. The inclusion of plexiglass and the strategic integration of cables enhance bending resistance, making the design suitable for use in demanding scenarios while maintaining a visually appealing aesthetic.

This advanced design approach holds immense potential for a variety of applications, particularly in the fields of interior design and urban infrastructure development. Within building interiors, the structure can serve as a sophisticated and functional element, offering both decorative appeal and practical functionality. For urban elements, the lightweight nature, combined with the structure’s strength and ability to adapt to external forces, makes it ideal for dynamic public spaces, such as canopies, pavilions, or innovative shading systems.

As cities continue to densify and space becomes increasingly constrained, this design exemplifies how cutting-edge materials and engineering strategies can address the challenges of modern urban living. By utilizing lightweight, durable, and flexible solutions, architects and designers are empowered to create sustainable and high-performance environments that meet contemporary demands while reducing environmental impact.

Ultimately, this smart design strategy represents a significant evolution in architectural engineering. It not only redefines traditional approaches to structural design but also serves as a stepping stone toward the creation of resilient, adaptable, and visually striking architectural solutions that will shape the future of modern architecture.To enhance the effectiveness of boundary conditions in lightweight structures exhibiting shell behavior, particularly with regard to improving bending resistance while minimizing material usage, this innovative design has strategically employed a multifaceted and highly adaptive approach.

The system is engineered to optimize performance under dynamic and variable loads, ensuring efficiency in both material use and structural capacity. Central to this design is the incorporation of two flat plexiglass layers, skillfully interconnected to provide enhanced structural integrity and robust performance across a range of conditions. Plexiglass, a material renowned for its lightweight properties, exceptional strength, and high transparency, is employed here as a superior alternative to traditional materials. Its unique combination of durability and flexibility makes it particularly suited for advanced architectural applications, where weight reduction is critical but must not compromise structural stability. The design takes full advantage of plexiglass’s ability to withstand significant loads while maintaining its form, ensuring long-term performance and aesthetic appeal.

A creative and meticulously engineered connection system links the two layers of plexiglass. This system is pivotal in ensuring the layers work in harmony to resist external forces effectively. The interconnection not only enhances the overall rigidity of the structure but also allows for stable and seamless load transfer, minimizing localized stress and distributing forces evenly throughout the framework.

In addition to these connections, strategically integrated cables play a vital role in the structural system. These cables are designed to manage both positive and negative deviations in the structure, allowing it to respond dynamically to varying loads and environmental conditions such as wind or seismic activity. This innovative cable system enables the structure to adjust to movements and fluctuations while maintaining its integrity, ensuring reliability and safety across a range of applications.

Experimental Design

In the development of the pavilion design, which prominently featured the innovative use of double triangular panels, a sophisticated algorithm was implemented within the Grasshopper plugin to enable intricate architectural explorations. The process began with the TriRemesh component, partitioning the desired surface into geometrically coherent panels and forming the design’s foundation. The Offset Surface tool was then used to refine panel shapes, ensuring structural integrity and aesthetic appeal.Advanced Brep topology analysis was employed to map the relationships between panels and establish seamless connections. The Polyline component calculated the midpoints of adjacent panels, enabling the creation of connecting curves that defined the pavilion’s overall flow. Local planes of each joint were established through the Is Planar component, ensuring precise alignment and structural coherence. Finally, points at the peaks of the joints were extruded, resulting in a diamond-like shape that added visual interest and created a dynamic interplay of light and shadow. This approach culminated in an innovative architectural solution, harmoniously integrating form and function while showcasing the potential of modern design technology to push boundaries.

Design Process

This project was based on the concept of combining two Iranian arches to create a unified surface. Initially, the resulting surface was triangulated and then modeled and designed parametrically in two layers, along with connections (joints). After completing the design, the pieces were oriented on the ground and numbered. In the next phase, to examine the structure and connections, a small-scale model was created using laser cutting, providing a physical representation of the final shape and the functioning of the components.

Triangulation with the Trimesh command

Numbering

In the final design stage, the model is prepared for fabrication by generating a 2D file for laser cutting and applying unique tags to all components for seamless assembly. Using the Text component in Rhino or Grasshopper, each panel, joint, and support element is assigned an identifier for accurate placement. The 3D elements, along with their tags, are then oriented onto a 2D layout using tools like Orient or Flatten, ensuring proper alignment and organization. The layout is optimized for material efficiency, with components arranged to minimize waste while maintaining clarity. Tags remain visible and accurately positioned, serving as reference points during assembly. Additional alignment marks or notches may be added for ease of construction. The finalized 2D file, typically in DXF or AI format, is then exported for laser cutting, ensuring a smooth transition to physical fabrication. This process ensures precision, efficiency, and streamlined assembly for the final structure.

Joint

Initial Joint

First joint details

Fragility of the initial joint (1mm)

Strength of the final joint (2mm) Final joint details

2D upright panels

2D downward panels

2D joints

Structural Analysis

To enhance the potential of boundary conditions in lightweight structures with shell-like behavior, while simultaneously increasing bending resistance and reducing material usage, this structure has addressed the challenge with an intelligent approach. The design consists of two flat layers (made of polycarbonate material) connected through an innovative joint system that ensures sufficient structural integrity. Additionally, cables attached to the joints effectively respond to both positive and negative deflections. Overall, this structural configuration has created a lightweight system that provides maximum integrity for optimal load distribution and high bending resistance. This methodology can be highly applicable in interior building design as well as urban elements, offering significant versatility and potential.

Deflection with cable

Stress with cable

Stress

Deflection with cable

Deflection- single layer Deflection

WORKSHOP OUTCOMES

Echoes of Arcs

Team Members: Farymah Khademi, Parymah Khademi, Azin Pourseyedi, Tida Azadi, Ailin Vatandoust

This project fuses traditional Iranian design with computational techniques, inspired by the ji-naghi arch at the Varamin Jame Mosque. Known for its structural resilience and elegance, the ji-naghi arch exemplifies medieval Iranian craftsmanship. By combining its principles with the N14 minimal surface—a lightweight, efficient geometry conceptualized by Alan Schoen in 1969—the design achieves a robust yet airy framework. Using Grasshopper in Rhino, the project features a double-layered shell structure with interlocking triangular panels, which echo the graceful curves of the ji-naghi arch. A contemporary tiling pattern reinterprets traditional Iranian geometric motifs, creating a blend of historical and modern aesthetics. This project honors Iran’s architectural heritage while embracing advanced computational tools, showcasing the potential for merging historic inspiration with modern innovation. It celebrates the Varamin Jame Mosque’s legacy and explores new directions in design, material efficiency, and fabrication.

Design Process

Concept:

Views of Ken Brakke’s SURFACE EVOLVER solution for two lattice fundamental domains of N14, a genus 14 hybrid of P and C(P)

The N14 minimal surface, a genus-14 surface, is part of a family of mathematically derived minimal surfaces with zero mean curvature, characterized by 14 independent loops. Originating from the study of differential geometry, it draws on the work of mathematicians like Edvard Neovius and Alan Schoen, who explored complex, periodic minimal surfaces with high symmetry. The code provided defines a transformation for generating this surface, specifically a “C(P) - D hybrid” Neovius model proposed by Schoen in 2011, utilizing cubic symmetry, an “alpha” parameter for structural refinement, and specific geometric constraints. This script applies transformations and constraints to stabilize and render the N14 surface, producing a lightweight, periodic structure suitable for architectural applications where both aesthetic fluidity and structural efficiency are desired.

Form Finding:

Idea:

2. Splitting the Octant Cell (1/8)

Unit Cell (1)

Divided Form

4. Rotation

5. Cutting Edges

6. Final Form

Ji-Naqi arch inspired by Persian geometric design

Analysis/ Z displacement

2 layers shell and support

2 layers shell without support

1 layer shell

The structure features interlocking triangular panels connected by precision-engineered joints, ensuring stability and load distribution. Flexible joints allow adjustments, aligning with the organic curves and enhancing resilience, while reflecting traditional Iranian craftsmanship.

Numbering Joints and Panels

Renders

Structural Elements Definitions

The Mortise and Tenon Joint

Stellar Pavilion

Team Members: Mobina Alibabaei , Shirin Anvarifar , Maede Fallahkish , Zeynab Hasouri , Sajede Pourkeshavarz

This multilayer structure project is based on the concept of a minimal surface—a surface that locally minimizes area. Mathematically, this means that the sum of the principal curvatures at each point on the surface is zero. Our design is inspired by Schoen’s Batwing Surface, a fascinating minimal surface with a unique geometrical structure. It features a quadrirectangular tetrahedron as its kaleidoscopic cell, which gives the surface its distinctive form.

The dynamic interplay of curvatures in the surface design allows the project to be perceived in multiple ways, shifting depending on the viewer’s perspective. As the viewer moves around the structure, the perception of depth, shape, and form transforms, creating an engaging visual experience.

The process began with the conceptualization and exploration of alternative designs using digital software. Once we arrived at a final design, we prepared it for laser cutting, translating the digital models into physical components. The next phase involved the precise assembly of the pieces, ensuring they fit together seamlessly. Finally, the structure was stabilized and supported through the strategic use of cables, allowing us to control and optimize the load distribution across the layers.

This process of iterative design and fabrication not only highlights the beauty of minimal surfaces but also demonstrates the potential for digital fabrication techniques to bring complex geometric concepts to life in physical space.

Design Process Analysis

The left image shows two fundamental regions, whose appearance is the source of the name “batwing”. The two fit in a tetrahedron, which is 1/48 of a full lattice cell cube. The second image shows 12 fundamental regions in a cube. This appears to the eye to be a lattice fundamental cell, but it is not. Opposite edges almost match under translation, but there are actually gaps of about .02. The third image is the full cubical unit cell. The fourth image shows the surface as a chamber with tubes in a slightly flattened octahedron. The genus of this surface is 25.

Schoen’s Batwing Surface

Deflection Legend Stress Legend

Chaos

Team Members:Parnia osati,Hanieh Nasehi, Niloufar Masoumzadeh,Leila noori, S.M.Kian Ghelmani

The prototype’s process management initially focused on identifying the most effective way to demonstrate the designed functional structure, emphasizing the integration of both form and function. The team sought to achieve a sense of elevation from the ground by incorporating triangular panels and precisely engineered joints, securely fixed to a stable base foundation. This approach not only addressed structural integrity but also aimed to create an aesthetically dynamic form. To achieve this, Grasshopper and Rhino were utilized for computational design, enabling detailed parametric modeling and efficient analysis. Through iterative testinWg and simulations, various configurations were explored to ensure stability in the target position, while also optimizing the joints and connections for load-bearing capacity and visual impact. The use of these tools allowed for real-time adjustments and refinements, ensuring that both structural and aesthetic goals were met with precision.

Alternative 1

Alternative 2

Alternative 3

Alternative 4

Design Process

The first step was to design a simplified shell structure to demonstrate our intentions and highlight the unique characteristics of this design.

In next step

To achieve this, we divided the primary shell into optimized triangular segments. These triangles were engineered to withstand both their own weight and unexpected external forces.

In the third step, we added a secondary layer that mirrors the first, enhancing the stability of the structure and preventing any undesired panel movement in any direction.

Next, we incorporated joints to securely connect the triangles, ensuring efficient force distribution toward the ground. Finally, to counter potential structural movement due to external forces, we integrated strategically placed cables. These carefully calculated cables provide additional support, preserving the structure’s form against any deformation.