Geodesic Winding of Minimal Surfaces: the architecture, structure and geometry of an irregular grid-shell pavilion assembled from thin plywood strips

The "Geodesic Winding of Minimal Surfaces-Pavilion" is a realized, irregular gridshell, assembled from thin, elastic plywood strips in a geodesic pattern, perceived as a winding pattern. The architectural space has been created for the arrival area of the Alpine Coaster (summer-toboggan run) at the ski resort of the Serlesbahnen Mieders, Austria. As a project it is merging student learning in architectural design and (digital) fabrication techniques as a design-build experience and real-world application including its technical, logistic, and economical restrictions. This paper provides insights into the main aspects from the design concept to the realization of the irregular, elastic gridshell from geodesic strips, including the drivers for the decision-making processes. We discuss the logic of geodesic curves and their application onto a previously formfound, minimal surface using a point and angle method instead of generating the geodesics by connecting two points on a given surface. We present the used thin plywood material, the digital workflow for the prefabrication and the subsequently guiding geometrical restrictions. Finally, the assembly process into an extremely lightweight pavilion is presented and the advantages from the irregular grid topology for reasons of students´ safety and the ease of erection are explained.