Welcome
Structural engineering prompted by sustainability and resilience, as well as advances in other fields such as architecture, mechanics, computing and manufacturing, is evolving towards complex design solutions that often question our traditional design strategies. Structural morphology refers to the study of the relation between a structure, its function, form, material, and forces. In an analogy with biology, structural morphogenesis represents the processes that control the organized spatial distribution of material and modules in a structure. In Computer-Aided Structural Engineering (CASE) Lab, we focus on the structural morphology and morphogenesis of tomorrow's structures using a holistic and integrated framework of numerical and physical modeling. Our applications and interests span from marine and coastal structures to building and infrastructure systems to space structures. We also seek and support artistic and educational STEAM projects.
Landolf Rhode-Barbarigos, PhD
News / Highlights
TENCYLINDER
April 2021
Tencylinder is a tensegrity structure that we are proud to report we worked on in collaboration with French artist Clément Vieille and Swiss architect Filippo Broggini from AEA (Applied Engineering Architecture). The structure is the centerpiece of the scenography by Hermès for watches & wonders 2021. Explore the links (click on the photo above and buttons below) to learn more about the structure including its assembly and erection.
VIDEO
March 2021
If you want to know more about our work on developing, testing, and deploying newly engineered artificial reefs that could decrease wave energy and help save coastlines from destruction during storms - all part of a project funded by the University Laboratory for Integrative Science (U-LINK) - watch the video below. The production was done by one of our team members, Dr. Jyotika Ramaprasad, professor at the School of Communication. Enjoy!
PODCAST
March 2021
Future Cities is a monthly podcast that aims to increase awareness of, and to catalyze action on, urban resilience. In this episode, we discuss, along with Dr. Diego Lirman from RSMAS, the role of coral reefs on shoreline protection and how corals can be combined with properly designed human-made structures to dissipate wave energy and thus reduce wave action, erosion and flooding in coastal communities.
JOURNAL PUBLICATION
September 2020
Our paper on the dissipation of wave energy by a hybrid artificial reef in a wave simulator was accepted for publication in Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. The paper presents the methodology of our study on the added effects produced by the presence of corals on a trapezoidal artificial reef model. It is the first paper on an exciting new direction for our lab where we explore structural morphology for coastal and marine structures.