Structural analysis of gridshells designed from singularities

This article presents a new structural solution for the design and construction of rigid and elastic gridshells with specific meshes. Four meshes with singularities are created based on the original geometry of a previous successful project designed in 2011 by the Navier Laboratory of the École des Ponts et Chaussées. The paper first investigates the meshes in a rigid gridshell to check the overall behavior of the structure. A FEM structural analysis is performed and the result proves the structural interest of the concept as the solutions with singularities are stiffer than the original configuration. The aim is to apply the same concept to an elastic gridshell and use the proposed meshes to limit the curvature and the stresses during the shaping process. The final part of the paper focuses on the deformation of the initial grid that results in a sort of polyhedral surface rather than a smooth shape. The paper shows that the mesh strategy is an essential step for the gridshell design as it allows the designer to have better control of the structural behavior. The final results encourage the application of such a design philosophy for future structures exploring its structural and architectural potential.