Tree-Shaped Timber Structural System: An Ecological Way of Designing Spatial Structure

Abstract

This paper focuses on the main characteristics of a Tree-Shaped Timber Structural System, or simply, Tree-Shaped. One of them is the complexity of its steel connections, responsible for the joint of bar elements, compounding a complex structural system, which requires the application of the CYPECAD software version 2007 to solve the calculations concerns. Its efficiency was confirmed by a variety of laboratory tests carried out with the whole structure. The Tree-Shaped is a timber structure that enables a large number of functional programs, residences, malls, sheds, hangars, etc. Originally it was conceived in Barcelona/Spain based on the well-known masterpiece Sacred Family, whose author was Architect Antoni Gaudi I Conet (1852 - 1926). It was designed at the end of XIX Century and its construction is still not finished. Gaudi inverted the logical order of the gothic concepts, i.e, light weights below and heavy weight above. Based on this concept, he always had in mind the figure of a tree in nature. The Tree-Shaped follows the same idea, using timber pieces connected by steel plates. Theoretical and numerical analyses have shown its efficiency and lightness for use in timber structures and roofs.