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Well-constructed canopies create an inviting feeling of protection from harsh elements like sun and rain, while still being able to stand or sit outside. They can also serve to invite pedestrians to enter a building. Finally, beautiful canopies create a unique architectural feature on buildings that create dimension and allure. This post explores 10 unique…

Skylights blur the barriers between outside and inside. Admire 10 awe-inspiring international skylights that push the boundaries of modern architecture. 1. Mall of Africa: Gauteng, South Africa At 46,000 square feet, we’ll start this skylight saga with an expansive display of exposed architectural steel in the shape of trees. The plans for the mall, which…

Glass is one of the most widely used building materials in architecture, design, and construction. With its unique structural properties, the material can be modified to produce different types of glass in construction. Use and Structure of Architectural Glass Glass is manufactured with different physical properties depending on what it will be used for. Several…

Reticulated Structures: Are They Structurally Sound?  Free form envelopes became more and more popular in recent years, after being promoted by buildings like the DZ-Bank in Berlin (Frank Gehry), the Arts Center in Singapore (Vikas Gore), the British Museum in London (Norman Foster) and recently the New Fair in Milan (Massimiliano Fuksas) with its roofs…

Creative architecture can evoke both emotion and wonder. Grid Shell technology has helped advance and expand the world of creative architecture. Free form structures created with grid shell technology are a great example of this unique style of design and have become more popular over the last decade. The main reason for their rise in…

Introduction to Double Layer Structures There are two main concepts involved in the realization of free form structures – single layer structures and double layer structures. Double layer structure design has been well known for many years. Comprehensive comparisons of node connectors for double layer structures are published in [EBE75] [LAC77] [OCT02]. The classical node…