STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADES - USC School of Architecture

facades as full building enclosures of complex geometry, and beyond the focus of this thesis.
Nonetheless, gridshells are a viable structure type for application in façade structures, as
some simple examples here attest. This structure form remains rather under-explored in this
application, and there may be some interesting potential in future work.
Schlaich Bergermann were also involved in the New Milan Trade Fair gridshell canopy
designed by Massimiliano Fuksas completed in 2005 (Figure 2.11).
Figure 2.11 Gridshell glass canopy (New Trade Fair in Milan n.d.)
2.2.7 Tensegrity
What became known as tensegrity structures were first identified and explored by Kenneth
Snelson in 1948. Snelson introduced Buckminster Fuller to his findings, and in the mid
1960’s Fuller coined the term “tensegrity” (Coplans 1967) as a portmanteau of ‘tensional
integrity’. A true tensegrity is a balanced construct of complimentary forces, with continuous
tension elements and discontinuous compression elements. Fuller defines tensegrity as
compression elements that do not touch, but exist as “small islands [of compression] in a
sea of tension” (Fuller 1962 cited in Robbin 1996, p.25). A tensegrity tower sculpture built by
Snelson (1968) is shown in Figure 2.12.
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