Morphogenesis and Structural Optimization of Shell Structures with the Aid of a Genetic Algorithm

The paper presents a method to generate and structurally optimize the shape of free form shells by means of a genetic algorithm. The shape of the shell is described with the aid of a NURBS representation and the algorithm modifies and improves it on the basis of the structural behaviour. A FEM analysis is performed for each individual and at each generation of the evolutionary process, in order to evaluate the structural behaviour in terms of maximum vertical displacement under a distributed load condition. The method is applied to a recent example of free-form architecture and the results are discussed referring in particular to the role of the architect as 'decision maker' in the evolutionary process. From this point of view the necessity to fit different requirements (structural, functional, aesthetic) involving the work of many professionals, can then be interpreted as a problem of multiobjective optimization.