Papers by Niels De Temmerman
The efficient and lightweight structural concept Tensairity can be used for a variety of applicat... more The efficient and lightweight structural concept Tensairity can be used for a variety of applications, ranging from large span structures to temporary constructions. Tensairity structures provide features few conventional structures have, such as a fast assembling/dismantling, collapsibility, and a compact storage and transport volume. These are all aspects ideal for mobile and temporary applications. However, this structural concept would be even more appropriate for these kinds of structures if it would be capable to be folded or rolled together without having to disassemble anything, which a basic Tensairity girder is not able to. This paper presents the research of deployable Tensairity structures. Various foldable alternatives for the continuous compression element in a standard Tensairity beam are investigated experimentally. Several proposals for a flexible compression element are evaluated and discussed The influence on a promising mechanism, the foldable truss, of different parameters such as the amount of hinges and the presence of pretensioned cables, is also studied and discussed Finally, all these results are summarized and they will then provide the basis for further research for a proposal of an optimised deployment mechanism for the deployable Tensairity structure.
IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Like many institutions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) strives for a sustainable approach to ma... more Like many institutions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) strives for a sustainable approach to manage its architectural patrimony. This patrimony, with as an example the student residences in the heart of VUB its main campus, puts forward an important challenge. These residences, designed by architect Willy Van Der Meeren in 1971-1973, are generally recognized as architectural heritage, yet they need thorough yet economically feasible and future-oriented energy refurbishment if we want to extend their service life. The same challenge applies to many buildings in the Brussels Capital Region. Here, the number of housing units, as in the rest of Europe, increased significantly during the post-war period. A peak occurred at the end of the 1960s, when more than 7,000 new housing units were built annually. Like the student residences, these housing units are the witnesses of an innovative past but raise questions on thermal inertia, safety of accessible roofs, performance of aluminium win...
Internaltional Association for Shell and Spatial Structures Symposium: Spatial Structures in the 21st Century, Sep 26, 2016
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Jun 1, 2007
Fabric Architecture, Jul 1, 2003
GDC2017 - Green Design Conference, Oct 1, 2017
In past times, the architects and the designers had their imagination and their line sketches as ... more In past times, the architects and the designers had their imagination and their line sketches as the only tools to create and represent their projects. While this allowed them to free their creativity, it also induced that most of their decisions were based either on their experience or on their personal vision but less frequently on objective and quantified parameters. With the development of digital 3D models, the idea of having a tool that uses objects instead of lines slowly came through, allowing the software to store data and " understand " the model as well as representing it. This is the beginning of Building Information Modelling (BIM), a kind of software as well as a process, strongly relying on data. Through that data, Building Information Modelling can represent physical and functional characteristics of a facility. However, even though BIM proved its usefulness for plan production, some architects still discuss its added value at early stage design. Indeed, it is commonly accepted that BIM use generates high return on investments for contractors but many architects claim that BIM use at early stage require a tremendous amount of work, especially if the project is stopped before completion. What if digital object-oriented solutions in general and BIM was an opportunity for the designer to develop his/her own tools. On one hand their core knowledge is in designing buildings not tools but on the other hand as users, they know exactly what they need and what is useful for them. This increasing need of specific tools lead to visual programming solutions such as Rhinoceros + Grasshopper or Revit + Dynamo which provide a simplified, user friendly and optimised interface allowing them to start designing tools. However, while only a few architectural schools teach programming skills to their students, all of them orient their learning around the architectural project. This paper showcases the IDE x AS framework which proposes to designers experienced with the architectural design process; key guidelines, rules and method to implement ideas and concepts within a digital script. While this method is completely software and language dependent, it will be showcased through scripts developed either in Grasshopper or in Dynamo. The structure of this method follows the general structure of the design process and is therefore divided in different phases with varying objectives. It proposes several ways to translate qualitative parameters – quite complex to handle for a computer-into quantitative ones depending on the designer's needs (threshold, ratio, fuzzy method) but also ways to display the result and ensure quick feedback to the user.
IASS Annual Symposium 2020 and Surrey 7th: Inspiring the Next Generation, 2020
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Jun 1, 2008
Uploads
Papers by Niels De Temmerman