Pentaura Shell BarcelonaTech UPCSchool research pavilion

Innovative timber segmented shell to serve as climate shelter for school. Pentaura shell.

A group of Master's students specializing in computational design in BarcelonaTech UPCSchool have successfully conceived and constructed a timber climate shelter for a public school demonstrating ease of construction in segmented corrugated timber shells with digitally fabricated rigid joints. This project is situated within a research framework that highlights the capabilities of computational design, simulation, and digital fabrication methods for minimizing ecological footprint in architecture

Commissioned to provide a versatile space for various school activities, the design unfolds a branched vault achieved through a digital form-finding technique, reminiscent of Antoni Gaudi’s iconic inverted models, sheltering the inhabitants with a fresher air by means of a breathing skin.

Increased efficiency by the corrugation of its skin
Taking inspiration from creased seashells and leaves, and following a large engineering experience, the shell gets corrugated to increase its resistance to external forces. The corrugation increases drastically the second moment of inertia, changing the resistance of the shell to deflection, thus reducing the thickness of the timber boards, ultimately reducing the overall mass of the structure, despite the increase in surface area.In the project, the minimization of the mass is driven by the corrugation form and distribution amid the tradeoff between surface area and structural performance.

Manufacturability by segmentation
The discretization of the shell into triangles plates offers practical benefits in terms of manufacturability and assembly. The discrete plywood components can be easily fabricated using standard 3-axis CNC machines, utilizing readily available plywood material, and producing very little waste. The size and weight of these plates also considers ease of transportation, allowing them to fit in common vehicles and be assembled by a single individual without external auxiliary means. On the other hand, the complexity of the doubly curved shell is finally absorbed by the triangulation and the simplicity of a low number of custom folded metal plates enabling rapid assembly.

The entire journey, from concept to reality, reflects the collaborative efforts of the MPDA Master in Parametric Design in Architecture students and faculty, who harnessed the power of computational design and digital fabrication tools. All design aspects were meticulously crafted within Rhinoceros Grasshopper, utilizing Kangaroo2 for the form-finding process and Karamba for the rigorous structural analysis. The MPDA program serves as a framework for harnessing computational design principles, resulting in the creation and optimization of lightweight timber structures with a minimal ecological footprint.

Student Team:
Xavier Almanza, Bindhuja Ameerpet, Imma Bigas, Cristian Cabezas, Miguel Cruz, André Almeida, Robert Fuse, Nerea Gardner Egusquizaga, Shylesh Kumar, Adriana Moreno, Anna Nasrallah, Nayib Perez, Vijithendra Thejaswi R V, Arshita Ravindranathan, Mariona Rodríguez Majoral, Abiodun Afolabi Shonibare

Faculty:
Gerard Bertomeu, Dragos Naicu, Marc Serra, Alex Solà, Enrique Soriano, Pep Tornabell, with international experts guest faculty: Julian Lienhard, Almudena Majano, Antonio Lara.

Photo credit Andrés Flajszer

Acknowledgements
We want to thank the AFA, management and staff of Escola Turó de Can Mates for their kindness and support during all the process. We also want to acknowledge the ETSAV Architecture school for hosting the master and the workshops, Daniel Piker for creating Kangaroo2 and many other amazing features, the Karamba3d team, Spirafix for their unique ground screws, Manxa for their hardware support, Sumeplast for nifty cnc work and Laser Penta for their metal works.