Dutch Maritime Museum: Form-finding of an irregular faceted skeletal shell - Part a

Abstract

In the context of the search for an efficient structural shape to cover the Dutch Maritime Museum courtyard in Amsterdam, the authors briefly discuss the driving design factors that influenced the earliest glass roof coverings. The trends that have emerged during the late 20th and beginning 21st century in the design of skeletal steel glass shells are exposed. These design developments range from sculptural to geometrical and physical intentions (part a). The discussion of the competition design development of the Dutch Maritime Museum Shell roof by Ney and Partners shows the quest for a structurally efficient catenary form based on a poetic geometrical idea. This paper presents a novel methodology that slightly adapts the catenary shape with the objective of achieving planarity in all the triangulated, quad angulated and pent angulated mesh facets. The challenge of facet planarity is gracefully solved and adds to the elegance, structural efficiency and economy of this design (part b).