
A transdisciplinary approach in structural design and digital architecture of timber structures with advanced manufacturing workflow.
Institution: EPFL, IBOIS.
Authors: Prof. Dr. Yves Weinand, Dr. Aryan Rezaei Rad, Dr. Petras Vestartas.
The MOOC will introduce its audience to the development of a set of computational tools for geometry processing, mesh and network processing, computer-aided structural engineering design, and digital fabrication. The aim is to introduce a teaching module that systematically transfers both academic findings and industrial experience to the professional society. It also covers technological advancements in advanced timber construction and real-world applications. The latter, specifically, could be inspiring not only for graduate students but also for professional engineers and architects.
The proposed MOOC intends to foster a trans-disciplinary design approach in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) for timber structures. It outlines an innovative and sustainable methodology with examples from recent construction projects. The primary development goal for this MOOC is to spread the innovative design approach in AEC we developed at EPFL. Therefore, the MOOC results from the compilation of five doctoral theses, research-industry technology transfer with our industry partner, and a flagship structural system with has been constructed. Accordingly, it will be beneficial for not only graduate students but also industrial professionals and civil engineering, architecture, and construction society.
What you'll learn
- Technological advancements in timber construction.
- Innovative timber construction in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector.
- A structural design methodology for spatial timber shellsAlgorithmic-aided structural design.
- Joinery generation using Joinery Solver Algorithm
- Global geometry generation algorithm.
- Case studies, real-world applications, and flagship large-scale timber structures.
Contents
- Introduction to advanced timber construction
- Case studies in advanced timber plate structures
- Advanced timber construction and large-scale structures
- Digital architecture and advanced geometry processing
- Engineering design and simulation methods in timber plate structures
- Optimization methods

Rhino User Webinar (In Italian)
April 26, 2023, at 4:00 PM CEST
This webinar will explain how Rhino enables improvements to the traditional workflow in eyewear design, using SubD and parametric modeling with Grasshopper. We will address aspects aimed at both digital fabrication and product virtualization. Special focus will be given to using 2D and 3D tools in Rhino for eyewear customization, including models with custom designs in terms of shape, size, materials, colors, details, logos, and engravings, up to unique solutions for the person who will wear it. This is the new concept of sartorial eyewear, that is, eyewear designed as a tailor-made garment to express the taste and style of people who seek exclusive fashion accessories. Taking advantage of Rhino's potential and new functions, it will be shown how to handle complex design situations, including the creation of fittings for critical parts, the intersection of surfaces between bridge, nose pads, and the ergonomic shapes of temple ends.
Riccardo Pietro Visentin is the Founder & Owner of AUREASERVICE Design Studio (Est. 1989), which has been an Authorized Rhino Training Center since 2005. He is a Creative Digital Designer: consultant, 3D designer, and trainer for digital innovation in multiple areas of design. He has developed specific expertise in the design of fashion accessories and furniture components, working alongside and training designers from companies and professional studios. In the area of eyewear design, he has created training paths to introduce and improve digital design and fabrication in companies in the supply chain.
xNURBS announces the availability of Version 6.1. And V4/V5/V6 customers can get a free upgrade to V6.1. V6.1 includes a number of enhancements, e.g., improving surfacing quality and reducing the number of control points needed to satisfy the required precision, etc.
xNURBS also produces a tutorial video, which explains the xNURBS settings in detail and helps users to understand how to use xNURBS efficiently and correctly.
The following is a short answer to "why xNURBS".
Key Features of xNURBS:
- Unlimited capacities for solving NURBS: Its optimization algorithm can solve virtually any NURBS surface in milliseconds (regardless of the constraints' complexity).
- High-quality surfaces: For a given set of constraints, xNURBS’ optimization algorithm uses an energy-minimization method to generate the smoothest NURBS surface among all possible solutions. The generated surface quality is outstanding.
- xNURBS is one super powerful NURBS tool that fixes virtually all surfacing issues for existing CAD software.
- Easy to use: It uses one simple UI for all kinds of NURBS modeling.
- Super robust: xNURBS is rock solid and works flawlessly.
- Native CAD surfaces: xNURBS is based on NURBS, i.e., the native CAD surfaces, which can be directly used for any CAD modeling operations without geometry translation.
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