Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Folded Structure

Dr. Hala Nabil

Academic Year 2021/2022 (Fall 2021)

Palm Leaves Insects fly

Bat & Bird wings

Shell

Earth crust

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 1

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Folded door

Zigzag door

Zigzag chair Umbrella

Zigzag Hook
manual fans

This technique originated in Germany in the 1920s and became popular in

Russia and the United States during the 1930s to construct roofs for industrial
warehouses and public buildings.

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 2

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

It is a Three dimensional Spatial structure.

Structure Types: Type of Shell Structure.

Materials: Reinforced concrete, Steel

Span: long spans, especially for roofs, up to 30m

with only about 60mm thickness.

Slab Thickness: The Thickness of the slab is small compared to

the other dimensions.

Folding increases strength and stiffness.

A folded plate structure consists of a series of thin

planar elements, or flat plates, connected to one another
along their edges.

Folded plate structures are assemblies of flat plates,

or slabs, inclined in different directions and joined along
their longitudinal edges.

Secured ends helps resist buckling

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 3

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Load Distribution: Surface Active, (has a two-way

action in transmitting loads to its supports.)

• The external forces are transferred to the

shorter edge of folding element.
• The reaction as an axial force is divided
between the adjacent elements.
• The forces transferred to the bearings.

At the edge, or fold, it may be capable of transmitting both

moment and shear or only shear.

Folded plate behavior: combine slab action with beam action.

In length direction they act like thine inclined beams of great depth, stabilized against
buckling at top and bottom y adjoining plates.
In width direction, they act as one way slabs that span between adjacent plates.
Folded plate is assumed to act as a beam in its own plane, this assumption is
justified when the ratio of the length to width (plate) is large enough. when
this ratio is small, the plate behaves as a deep beam.

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 4

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

• bending causes top compression & bottom tension.

• Flatten under gravity loads.
• Buckled end panels.

Walls End beams

There are several benefits of folded plate construction: There are disadvantage like:

• lightweight Structure. • Required greater accuracy in

• It can provide longer span. formwork (Concrete).

• Esthetically looks good comparing to other forms • Required Trained labors.

of constructions.

• They are simpler to manufacture than

other shells such as cylindrical shells, with
relatively simple formwork required.

• Have an intrinsic rigidity and high load

carrying capacity, which makes them economical.

• The system is capable of carrying loads without

the need for additional supporting beams along
mutual edges.

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 5

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Applications of folded structure in Architecture

Roofs

Facades

Applications of folded structure in Architecture

floors
mezzanine ceiling "kielsteg"

Steel Sheet Piles It is used as an earth retention and excavation

Retaining walls support. It keeps soil back by using steel
sheets that interlock to create a strong barrier

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 6

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Folded plate surfaces

the structures in which all the highest points of the
elements and all the elements of the lowest points of the
folded structure belong to two parallel planes.

Folded plate Frames

represent constructional set in which the elements of each
segment of the folds mutually occupy a frame spatial form.
This type of folded structure is spatial organization of two
or more folds in the plane.
Spatial folded plate structures

the type of a structure in which a spatial constructive set is

formed by combining mutually the elements of a folded
structure.

The straight elements forming a folded construction can be of various

shapes

Rectangular plates Prismatic

Pyramidal Non-rectangular plates

Triangular or trapezoidal plates Prismoidal

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 7

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Tal Friedman's Origami Pavilion is an ultra-modern

Architect tal friedman’s ‘fold finding’ pavilion is a self-

supporting folded architectural work that utilizes
traditional origami techniques (both aesthetic and
structural) to avoid the need of any sub-structure. using
only eight 4mm thick alucobond panels

Neo Solar Power Headquarters

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 8

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Basque Health Department Headquarters

The outer one is a glazed skin made up of framed glass set in a
tubular frame while the inner layer is the building's windows.

Nestlé Chocolate Museum

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 9

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Park Pavilion

Plain A4 or A3 Papers

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 10

Building Construction & Materials (3) 11/3/2021

Dr.Hala Ali Nabil 11