Shuaizhong Wang

ETH Zurich | ETH Zürich · Department of Architecture

The integration of structure and architecture is gaining increasingly more attention with the development of building materials and construction techniques. It is in this context that the concept of "Strong Structures" was born in the modern Swiss architectural discourse to explore the balance between technology and art in structural design. "Stron...

The analogy between the human body and architectural structures dates all the way back to ancient times and has significantly shaped the design of buildings and structures. The article examines the body's historical influence on how structures are perceived and designed , demonstrating how the body shapes the "technical truth" dimension of structur...

Structural art should not be marginalised as an integral part of structural design. By reviewing historical understandings of structural art, this article discusses the ambiguous and neglected perspective of structural art on architectural design and human perception dimensions, concentrating the attention of structural art on the question of human...

In order to integrate the perceptual and human dimensions into structural design, this paper begins with the contrast between structure and body, and reinterprets body-based structural thinking from a neuroscientific perspective by introducing recent research findings on embodied perception, using Dasher architecture as an example. The paper aims t...

With increased interest in materials and construction in the architectural field, the use of building structure as the element of architectural expression has gained interest in recent years. In his analysis of contemporary Swiss architecture, Arthur Rüegg has coined the notion of ‘Strong Structures’ for the tendency to activate a load-bearing stru...

This paper illustrates the design and fabrication process of the temporary installation The Canopy, developed as part of the fib Symposium on Conceptual Design of Structures 2021. The geometry of the perforated hanging membrane that forms The Canopy is the result of seamless integration between the disciplines of architecture and structural design,...

This paper rethinks the relation between structural logic and architectural art from an abstract perspective view of force flows. Based on the interactive relation between abstract force equilibrium and architectural composition, it contends for a design thinking to integrate structural logic and architectural art.

The Danish Johansen Skovsted Arkitekter is new generation architectural firm in Nordic countries. Their works show the rationality and sensibility of architectural structures through the perspective of structural polysemy. This paper takes the firm’s most representative case, the Tipperne Tower as an insight into their innovative structural thinkin...

The paper attempts to provide a neuroscientific perspective on the discussion of structural expression. Taking human perception as the clue, this article starts with the notion of strong structures, take it as the base to review and analyses the principles of structural perception under the neurophysiological perspective. Based on the findings from...

Based on the concept of “strong structure”, the joint studio of Exhibition Pavilion of Jingxi Rice Culture incorporates structural clues into traditional design teaching that primarily relies on spatial experience. By conceptual inspiration, structural translation, multi-dimensional integration and tectonic presentation, it explores the organizing...

The special issue titled "Concepts, Methods and Practices - Reflections on "Strong Structures" in Architectural Design" in the Journal of The Architect (建筑师), Vol.03, Issue.211, 2021

Graphic statics, a vector-based approach to the construction of equilibrium, enables a design methodology at the intersection of structural thinking and architectural concept. The methodology is grounded in parametric and topological operations that allow for controlled distribution of tension and compression in space and with it the shaping of the...