Institute for Computational Design

In summer 2011 the Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE), together with students at the University of Stuttgart have realized a temporary, bionic research pavilion made of wood at the intersection of teaching and research. The project explores the architectural transfer of biological principles of the sea urchins plate skeleton morphology by means of novel computer-based design and simulation methods, along with computer-controlled manufacturing methods for its building implementation. A particular innovation consists in the possibility of effectively extending the recognized bionic principles and related performance to a range of different geometries through computational processes, which is demonstrated by the fact that the complex morphology of the pavilion could be built exclusively with extremely thin sheets of plywood (6.5 mm).


Institute for Computational Design Prof. Achim Menges
Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design Prof. Jan Knippers

Concept & System Development
Oliver David Krieg, Boyan Mihaylov

Detail Design & Fabrication & Construction
Peter Brachat, Benjamin Busch, Solmaz Fahimian, Christin Gegenheimer, Nicola Haberbosch, Elias Kstle, Oliver David Krieg, Yong Sung Kwon, Boyan Mihaylov, Hongmei Zhai

Scientific Development
Markus Gabler (project management), Riccardo La Magna (structural design), Steffen Reichert (detail design), Tobias Schwinn (project management), Frdric Waimer (structural design)