A Parametric Approach to the Morphological Structural Analysis of Thin Hyperbolic Paraboloid Shells

The undeniable fame achieved by thin concrete shells during the XX century is a well-known story. Their shapes represent the apex of the intersection between science and technology as well as a cultural distinctive character of modernity. The reasons for this enduring attraction on engineers and architects lay in the fact that the design of these geometry-based structures has a parametric nature. The identification of key parameters to control the pre-design phase has supported their design firstly in the realm of membrane theory and then, through the finite element calculation, in the bending theory, determining the extraordinary possibility of optimization that these structures still testify today. This paper illustrates the opportunity offered by the application of current parametric modeling and structural analysis tools to achieve a time-efficient structural evaluation of the influence of the morpho-typological choices make in the pre-design phase on the overall structural performance of hyperbolic paraboloid structures. Retracing the logic and processes of the past with new tools, the proposed analysis opens up new paths for future thin shell design applications.