Work - Irmgard Lochner Aldinger

I was given the wonderful opportunity to exhibit at the Biennale Architettura in Venice. A favorite topic in my research, and a generally very relevant one too, is the question of how we can learn from nature for engineering.

Natural structures perform and reproduce themselves with deformation. From the first design approaches, in a very intuitive attempt of understanding, they show and teach us about how to understand the function of structural systems…

The methods of topology optimization have been developed for economic reasons – minimizing the material input for structural systems.

Hornet nests can be described as single-material housing structures, where different elements with different geometries and different physical requirements are all constructed from one material.

The exoskeleton is probably one of the most fascinating structures found in nature. The development of natural „structures“ can be directly studied looking at the development of the skeleton.

„Literal and phenomenal lightness: lightness, logics and aesthetics“ was the title of the paper I was happy to present at this year’s IASS conference at MIT.

Summer School „Lightweight Structures“, with support by DAAD and Altair, taking place at Biberach University of Applied Sciences with guests from NTNU Trondheim. Students of architecture and structural engineering from the two Universities cooperated during this five-day workshop. Taking off with two excursion days to Munich (Olympic park and stadium, „BMW Welt“) and Stuttgart (Institute […]

The development of load paths in space is a relevant common work process in the interaction of architecture and engineering. In our common conceptions, we search for strategies of load-bearing structures merging the disciplines involved. In the development of optimized load paths in space, this study „from volume to grid shells“ has been carried out.

Pioneers such as Pier Luigi Nervi have taught us how to design structural systems following load paths. Until today, even if we have the most effective methods available, we rely on the studies of our precedents.

Frei Otto, pioneer of lightweight structures, initiator of new attitudes and concepts in architecture, crossing borders of architecture, engineering and design: this inspirational person has left us.

Workshop Architecture and Structure in Kaernten

Following an invitation to the Hochschule Kaernten, Spittal an der Drau, Austria, we gathered teaching staff and students from Kaernten, Cottbus / Germany and Biberach / Germany for a ten-day workshop.

In the second semester of the „structures“ course, the goal is to re-deepen the insight of structural geometries and performances. The students work with the vocabulary and the systematics of structural engineering and with their application to design processes.

Ever since the building of the Pantheon, double curved structures have been a continuous subject of study in structural engineering.
Our natural role models range from diatoms to mussels – scaling their principles up to wide-span enclosures shows us ways to design and construct them.

For this workshop, I had the pleasure to invite specialists in the field of digital design tools for a three-day workshop. The specialists included Dr Chris Williams, Bath University (UK) and Daniel Wentzlaff, Nissen Wentzlaff Architects, Basel (CH).

The junior high school “Graf Soden Realschule” in Friedrichshafen required an extension in 2010. The existing building volume, constructed in the 1970s, a building with a longitudinal orientation and constructed on a basic module of 2,50 m, was extended taking over the building height, the urban context, and the construction module. With an angled floor plan, the extension adopts the existing volume and allows for an atrium and a single-storey refectory to be placed within.

This work sets out to look for objective and subjective decisions in the design of structural systems. The postulate is to claim that the design of structural systems is not a purely objective design process, but also subject to personal design decisions.

The services of the Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Bavaria (KVB) should be grouped around the turn of the millennium in a central location in Munich.

Reaching a height of 85 metres, the air traffic control tower in Düsseldorf is so far the highest tower of Deutsche Flugsicherung (German Air Navigation Services – DFS). It was constructed as part of an overall design concept for air traffic control towers, on the basis of which two towers have already been implemented in Hannover and Leipzig.