From Mathematics to Membrane Structures: Translating Architectural Surfaces into Deployable Scissor Grids

Deployable scissor structures have the ability to transform from a compact state to a deployed and expanded configuration (figure 1). Generally, they support a weather protecting membrane which creates a functional envelope. These properties make them reusable and ideal for temporary, mobile and lightweight applications. A lot of geometric models have already been proposed for scissor structures, yet most of them are based on straightforward shapes such as a sphere or a cylinder which might not always create optimal shapes for integrating a textile membrane. In order to propose new and innovative geometries, deployable scissor structures based on the angulated scissor component were investigated. This paper reviews the development of a geometric design method, based on mathematics, to convert continuous surfaces into scissor grids with angulated components. A design tool, allowing the generation of different variations of geometries, based upon architectural parameters, is developed in a parametric design environment (Grasshopper® for Rhinoceros®). Interesting architectural surfaces for incorporating a membrane surface are revealed which are evaluated at a conceptual level according to their geometry and kinematic behaviour.