Conference Prof. Dr. Philippe Block, architect and engineer | Ensa Paris-Est

Lecture of Prof. Philippe Block, civil engineer and architect invited by Marc Mimram as part of the series lectures " Matter-Geometry-Structure ".
Dr. Philippe Block, Professor at the Institute of Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich, studied architecture and structural engineering at the VUB in Belgium and at MIT in USA. The Block Research Group focuses on equilibrium design methods and computational form finding and fabrication of curved surface structures. Prof. Block is also the director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication and partner of Ochsendorf DeJong & Block (ODB Engineering). He has recently been awarded the Rössler Prize for his work.
Throughout history, master builders have discovered expressive forms through the constraints of economy, efficiency and elegance. There is much to learn from the structural principles they developed. Novel structural design tools that extend traditional graphical methods to three dimensions allow designers to discover a vast range of possible shell forms. By better understanding the flow of forces in three dimensions, excess material can be eliminated, natural resources conserved, and humble materials like earth and stone reimagined. Drawing from a revival of forgotten principles combined with the latest advances in the design, engineering, fabrication and construction of doubly-curved shell structures, this lecture reveals the foundations upon which the award-winning “Beyond Bending” exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016 and the thin, flexibly formed concrete shell of the NEST HiLo and KnitCandela projects were based..
Tuesday, November 27th

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The challenging concept has opened a new page of the largest and most significant chapter in the knowledge of the design and buildings construction practices. By distributing concept knowledge "Strength through Geometry" into daily practice Earth will no longer be the same place. The impressive and respectable material savings of new lightweight construction materials for every engineer arouse great curiosity and attention. Continue in this direction. Congratulations.

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it is amazing how wise this lecture is