For an international contest and exposition on innovative structural systems, organised by the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) in 'het Muziekgebouw aan 't Ij' in Amsterdam, a team of VUB Architectural Engineering researchers designed and constructed the Undulatus pavilion. Referring to the Undulatus Asperatus cloud formation, the Undulatus pavilion is a cloud-like, hanging structure, based on the principle of curved-line folding. Fabricated completely out of thin polypropelene sheets (1,8mm), the structure can be assembled in about two hours, without using any screws or bolts. Through cut-out connections the 99 components are interlocked in a self-tensioning bending-active system. Using these dry and reversible connections allows rapid assembly and dismantling as well as extensive reuse. Although still flexible, the curved stucture shows structural shell behaviour and could be inversed to be used as a standing pavilion. 

Update - Undulatus wins the IASS2015 international contest:

The Undulatus pavilion is one of the two winners of the first innovative pavilion contest of the IASS. Various universities and companies from all over the world, including the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the engineering office ARUP, contributed and built a total of 28 pavilions. The pavilions had to give a future vision on structural design and innovation and had to be the outcome of (excellent) structural research. The prize was awarded during the closing ceremony of the IASS 2015 symposium by the local organizing committee and by the chairman of the jury and president of the IASS René Motro.

Project Files

• Paper on the Undulatus pavilion