The formfinding and determination of working drawings for a sophisticated spatial timber structure is described. Among others, a basic criterion was to find a form with only axial forces under dead loads, avoiding shear and bending. Starting from a sketched architectural design and observing prescribed geometrical constraints, this form was generated step by step using a highly efficient optimization strategy, modelling the grid like structure of reality by a discretized cable net.

The layout of the beams had to be done in the computer in such a way that the carpenter could use it for setting out, for prefabrication and for construction at the site. In addition to the formfinding of an idealized structure the finally derived structure of beam elements had to be analysed and processed by the computer. More than 400 distinctively different beams had to be handled.

In this report the specifications, the design criteria and their translation into an analytical design together with the cutting pattern methodology for this particular roof structure are described.

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