2011 Structural Engineering Traveling Fellowship
Deployable Structures: Elegant Kinematics for Social Sustainability

Designers of deployable structures have a unique opportunity for aesthetic expression through elegant design in a static position and through developing exciting, kinematic experiences as the structure transforms. David P. Billington defined structural art as designs that are efficient, economic, and elegant. [2] As Hoberman noted in the quote above, elegance for deployable structures is also about the transformation of the structure and the “rich and complex” behavior that can result. Deployable structures (including movable bridges, portable bridges, deployable shelters, and works of art) offer the viewer a changing perspective and the thrill of seeing a once static structure come to life. Designers can create innovative designs that are both an aesthetically striking static structure and an exciting, dynamic experience.

The “rich and complex behavior” that is achieved through deployable structures has the opportunity to be more than simply fanciful elegance. Rather, due to the transformative nature of deployable structures, they can be designed to be easily transportable for rapid deployment from a small, packaged state to a large volume. In this manner, structural engineers can design deployable bridges and shelters that can be packaged small but deployed rapidly for emergency relief in the immediate aftermath of a large-scale natural or man-made disaster. Such disasters often result in the need to quickly provide shelters for large numbers of displaced people. Rapidly expandable shelters and bridges that are lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to deploy are critical to an effective humanitarian response. These structures can provide shelter and transportation infrastructure for displaced families as well as create an environment suitable for dispensing essential needs such as food and water. They can have an immediate impact on mortality and morbidity rates and foster an environment for healthy hygiene, thus limiting the spread of infectious diseases. Need for such shelters and bridges has been apparent in events both within the United States (e.g., Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina) and in events abroad (e.g., Haiti Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami). It has been projected that there will be an increase in the number of such large-scale hazards by a factor of five within the next fifty years. [3] With this growing need, structural engineers must investigate this type of research to promote innovative solutions for disaster relief. By designing these structures with aesthetic intentions, the engineer also has the capability of providing a feeling of security and a sense of home that would be critical to the recovery of survivors. These social and aesthetic motivations served as both the impetus for my proposed SOM Foundation Structural Engineering Fellowship itinerary and for the research program that I am building as the John Cardinal O’Hara Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. More specifically, through this fellowship I investigated elegant, deployable structures for social sustainability by 1) visiting the site of a recent disaster, 2) meeting designers at research centers and design firms, and 3) evaluating deployable structures through site visits. These experiences have taught me about the need and context for deployable structures, the current state-of-the-art in design both in academia and industry, and challenges in building such structures. This experience has set the groundwork for my research program at the University of Notre Dame where I have started the Kinetic Structures Laboratory—a laboratory devoted to the design and optimization of deployable structures. Recent and current research projects include finding new forms for movable bridges, designing rapidly deployable shelters, and optimizing deployable bridges with applications for the military, the developing world, and disaster relief.

Notes

[1] Hoberman Associates, “Insights,” January 26, 2011, http://www.hoberman.com/insigh....

[2] D. P. Billington, The Tower and the Bridge (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983), 3–6.

[3] G. Kovacs and K.M. Spens, “Humanitarian Logistics in Disaster Relief Operations,” International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management 37, no. 2 (2007): 99–114.

Fellow Experience

The SOM Foundation Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship has had a profound influence on my career and my future research goals in kinetic structures. In visiting the site of a recent disaster and meeting with experts in disaster relief, I learned the importance of transitional sheltering—providing solutions that can provide both short-term and longer-term relief toward sustainable reconstruction and recovery. By visiting various laboratories, I learned a great deal about the state-of-the-art in deployable structures and have met many new colleagues whom I hope to collaborate with in the future. A key outcome from this experience was having the opportunity to construct and experimentally test a transitional shelter at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in collaboration with Niels De Temmerman and Lara Alegria Mira. By visiting a wide variety of kinetic structures, I was able to experience the kinematic elegance of their motion, understand their environment and context, and focus on design details not easily noticed through other sources.

I am grateful to the SOM Foundation for this opportunity and also to all of my hosts throughout this trip who were so generous with their time.

United States

Chile

Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom