The Underwood Pavilion

Abstract

Tensegrity structures are not commonly found within the currentdiscourse of architecture. The reason may be that they can only bedesigned through physical form finding processes. This paper will showhow architects can gain the ability to design these structures digitallyutilizing physics engines that simulate these form finding processes inreal time. To demonstrate this, the paper will use the UnderwoodPavilion as a case study to describe a design process that replacestraditional methodologies by digital methods, suggesting a newparametric design approach for lightweight structures and envelopes.