Analogue and computational form-finding techniques In shell structures design

The article is dedicated to the problem of design of shell structures in terms of architectural form-finding methods from a historical and contemporary perspective. The form-finding theory and techniques formulated by Robert Hooke were put into practice by Antonio Gaudi with his designs of the churches of Colňnia Güelland and Sagrada Familia. Moreover thin concrete shell structures were used in the middle of XX century and their structural forms were derived from experiments with physical models. Innovative form-finding techniques were developed by Frei Otto for the design of membrane structures. The article presents some historic, physical models based methods used for experimental determination of form and verification of the structural systems. Nowadays, computational methods are used in static analysis with dynamic environmental load simulation, which allow predicting the behavior of designed forms and structural systems. Architects can use 3D modelling twinned with visual programming to perform conceptual analyses enabling structural optimization of the architectural form. The Exhibition Pavilion of the University of Zielona Góra concept project was presented as an example of the use of computer numerical form-finding tools in supporting architectural design in the analysis of the effectiveness of structural solutions.