IASS 2024

#IASS2024 is over. What a week, what an audience, what a #Symposium! Thanks to the host NCCR Digital Fabrication for organising. Thanks to the co-chairs Philippe Block, Catherine De Wolf, Jacqueline Pauli and Walter Kaufmann. Thank you for the truly inspiring keynote sessions John Ochsendorf, Anupama Kundoo, Neil Thomas MBE, Mariam Issoufou and Professor Dame Sarah Springman. A big thank you to the team that made this conference possible: Giulia Boller, Ewa Maciejewski, Kaitlin McNally, Lea K., Kathrin Haake and Russell Loveridge. Thanks to René Jähne, blanca H. and Frank Hyde-Antwi for their support. Thanks to the incredible technicians Michael Lyrenmann, Tobias Hartmann, Jonathan Leu, Luca Petrus and Philippe Fleischmann. Thanks to our #Volunteers, you were great. Without you we would have not made it throught the week. Thanks to our photographer Dylan Carvalho and videographer Girts Apskalns. And thank you to everyone who took part in IASS 2024 and helped shape this wonderful week at ETH Zürich. That was it, that was IASS 2024. We let the impressions sink in and provide you with a photo gallery this week. In the meantime, let us know your feedback in the comment section or send an e-mail to info@iass.ch.

In an interview with swiss-architects.com, Dr. Giulia Boller discusses her research on Heinz Isler's shell structures.   She analysed Isler's extensive archive held at the gta Institute ETH Zurich, focusing on Isler’s working methods. The archive contains over 450 physical models, sketches, and other materials that offer insights into Isler's innovative design processes. The recent “Heinz Isler Models” exhibition, part of the IASS 2024 Symposium and held at the gta exhibitions space of the Department of Architecture (D-ARCH) ETH Zurich, offered a visual summary of her research and a window into Isler’s work. Giulia Boller studied architecture and civil engineering. As part of a research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF, she wrote her doctoral thesis on Heinz Isler's working methods. Today she is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Chair of Architectural Theory held by Prof. Laurent Stalder and at the Chair of Architecture and Structures held by Prof. Philippe Block. #EthZurich #DArch #ITA #Exhibition #Interview https://lnkd.in/dUHTs5uN

The recordings of the #IASS2024 keynote talks are online on YouTube. Watch the inspiring presentations by Neil Thomas MBE, John Ochsendorf, Anupama Kundoo, Laurent Ney, Mariam Issoufou and Professor Dame Sarah Springman. https://lnkd.in/es2V66KR

The Timber Innovation Tour travelled as far as western Switzerland. Led by #IASS2024 symposium co-chair Jacqueline Pauli, the participants were given an insight into the H1 Zwhatt high-rise campus, visited Erne AG Holzbau and learnt about the sustainably designed office building 543 Hortus. We would like to thank IASS 2024 sponsor ERNE AG Holzbau for the exciting insight into the Swiss #TimberConstruction company, the delicious barbecue lunch and, of course, the opportunity to visit the manufacturing center for timber constructions. Thanks to Anlagestiftung Pensimo, Boltshauser Architekten AG, B3 Kolb AG and Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure AG for the insights into the H1 high-rise building. Thank you ZPF Ingenieure for showing 543 Hortus. Thanks to Natalia Pieroni , Stefan Jos and Ursula Jaray for their support on this tour.

The #Isler Historical Tour followed the footsteps of Swiss #Engineer Heinz Isler in his home canton of Bern. A total of six Isler #ShellStructures were visited, including the iconic Deitingen Süd Service Station and his former office, which is now a kindergarten. Giulia Boller led the tour. Thanks to Samuel Meury and Lea K. for their support on site and for preparing and documenting this tour. The #TechnicalTours took place on the last day of the #Symposium.  They enabled participants to delve deeper into the subject matter.

I just wrapped up an incredible week in Zürich attending IASS 2024 , where I had the chance to connect with colleagues from around the world. I was glad to present our work from Centre for Natural Material Innovation from the project "Timber Innovative Manufacturing Benefitting English Resources," which is part of the Forestry Commission's Timber in Construction Innovation Fund. The paper "Experimental Investigation for the Quantitative Assessment of Ungraded Timber in Floor Trusses" co-authored by Harry Mills, Darshil Shah, Antiopi Koronaki, Michael Ramage presented two studies involving full-scale testing. In the first study, we analyzed the performance of floor trusses made from the smallest possible sections of ungraded timber, using two alternative connection types steel punch plates and finger-jointing, and tested them to failure through a 6-point bending test. The second study employed tension tests of chord-web nodes to see how much the variations in certain parameters (timber section, plate area, finger depth) affect performance, focusing on ungraded English Corsican Pine to verify its viability for such products. All results were compared to an industry-standard floor truss used as a benchmark. The prototypes made with ungraded English Corsican Pine boards performed slightly better than the industry-standard product. more info: https://lnkd.in/dWswFbhc

From August 26th to 30th, I had the honour of presenting my research paper, “Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Membrane and Grid Shell Structures: A Case Study Analysis,” at the IASS 2024 Symposium held at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the organising team for putting together such a well-organised and inspiring conference. I am also deeply grateful to my promoters, Marijke Mollaert, Danny VanHemelrijck, and Lars De Laet, for their invaluable guidance and support throughout this research. You can access the paper via the following link: https://lnkd.in/eqP72Mcz

Professor Dame Sarah Springman gave the last keynote of #IASS2024 as part of the closing ceremony. What a special opportunity to welcome the former Rector of ETH Zürich on stage at this #Symposium. She jokingly said, ‘Philippe asked me to talk about the five E's, but today he said they've gone up to seven now, that's how it works here’. Thank you Sarah for your contribution to IASS 2024.

Congratulations to the "FloaTree" team for winning the first prize in the #Design Competition and Exhibition of Innovative Lightweight Structures at #IASS2024.