Structural Optimization — Materia Assente

Materia Assente challenges the traditional reliance on mass and weight by exploring how to design the memory of a building. This pavilion operates on the philosophy of "Absent Matter," using advanced computational design to replace solid walls with intricate, lightweight lattice structures. These transparent meshes act as a filter for the surrounding landscape, creating an ethereal, ghost-like presence.

The workflow began by generating a subtracted BRep form, voxelized into a BC Cubic lattice using Crystallon. After trimming the geometry, gravity and wind loads were applied to the vertices for structural analysis in Alpaca 4D using recycled PET. A primary element analysis decomposed the geometry into 18,802 curves and 37,604 intersection vertices. Multi-objective structural optimization was performed using Octopus.

The resulting structure encompasses over 6 kilometers of linear beams within a large volume, yet weighs only 202 kilograms. A total wind load of 18.48 kN was applied along the YZ vector, combined with a total gravity load of 1.98 kN distributed across the pavilion. The design achieves a delicate balance between spatial transparency and physical stability.

While poetic in concept, the execution is mathematically rigorous. Through a workflow of form-finding, voxelization, and structural optimization using Finite Element Analysis and evolutionary solvers, the design achieves a delicate balance between spatial transparency and physical stability, crafted entirely from recycled PET pipes.