Geometry for Computational Design and Fabrication

ArchitecturalGeometry
course no.
263-5907-00
semester
Fall 2024
lecturer
Helmut Pottmann
assistant
Olga Sorkine-Hornung
(contact via adress below only, please)
contact
lecture
Tue 10-12; CAB, G 57
ECTS credits
1 credit

announcements

17.09.24
Welcome to the fall semester! Note that the first lecture of the course will start on October 8, 2024.

overview

Assuming some basic knowledge of elementary differential geometry of curves and surfaces in 3-dimensional Euclidean space, we will discuss concepts of classical constructive differential geometry and their discrete versions, with a focus on quadrilateral nets. Topics to be addressed include mappings between surfaces, conjugate parameterizations, principal parameterizations, developable surfaces and their applications in architectural structures, design of mechanical metamaterials and fabrication processes based on bending of material. Another focus is on geometric optimization problems, discussing mainly geometric ideas on initialization, regularization and the formulation of frequently appearing objective functions. A further topic is given by transformations which preserve important structures. This reaches into the sphere geometries of Möbius and Laguerre and transformations of nets. Finally, we present the basics of kinematical geometry, such as velocity fields and their use in registration algorithms, infinitesimal flexibility and the closely related static equilibrium of shells.

Course objectives

The main intention of the course is to present geometric concepts that turned out to simplify the solution of problems in computational design and fabrication and hold promise to provide useful methodology for future research in this area.

Course work and performance assessment

Ungraded semester performance.

schedule and course notes

Note: Course notes are only accessible within the ETH network (addresses 129.132.*). Use VPN to access from outside.

The course schedule is tentative and might be adjusted along the way.


01.10.24
No class.

08.10.24

15.10.24

22.10.24

29.10.24

05.11.24

12.11.24

19.11.24

26.11.24

books and references