Morphogenesis and structural optimization of shell structures with the aid of a genetic algorithm

Abstract

The paper presents a method to generate and structurally optimize the shape of free form shells by means of a genetic algorithm. The shape of the shell is described with the aid of a NURBS representation and the algorithm modifies and improves it on the basis of the structural behaviour. A FEM analysis is performed for each individual and at each generation of the evolutionary process, in order to evaluate the structural behaviour in terms of maximum vertical displacement under a distributed load condition. The method is applied to a recent example of free-form architecture and the results are discussed referring in particular to the role of the architect as 'decision maker' in the evolution..