The Relationship Between Gaussian Curvature and Surf ace Panelization Approaches in Architecture

Abstract

As the design of free-form architectural surfaces becomes easier, questioning and foreseeing the feasibility of the construction of these surfaces becomes important. Such an inquiry requires sufficient knowledge of architectural geometry besides the knowledge of materials and structural systems. In this article, a preliminary example of a guide which supports the design and production process of building surfaces with different geometric properties is presented. This guide aims to reveal the relationship between Gaussian curvature which is an intrinsic geometric feature of architectural surfaces, and some of the widespread paneling strategies. After the literature review and the description and classification of curvature and paneling concepts via architectural examples, a comparative table has been created. The resulting table facilitates answering the question of whether it is possible geometrically to build architectural surfaces with different paneling strategies, especially at early phases of architectural design. Besides, it contains information about the planarity and the equality of the surface panels. Thus, the preliminary information is presented to the designer about the estimated cost of surface construction and the materials and technologies to be selected. Further development of such guides will help architects and students to use geometry more consciously hence more strongly. On the other hand, it is aimed to make contributions to the Turkish literature of the mentioned research field, to emphasize the Turkish equivalents of the related mathematical terms, and to draw attention to some of the newly developed topics on this field.