Title

Multi-Storey Air-Supported Building Construction

Author Info

Jens G. Pohl, University of New South WalesFollow
Henry J. Cowan, University of Sydney

Recommended Citation

Published in BUILD International, Volume 5, Issue 2, March 1, 1972, pages 110-118.

NOTE: At the time of publication, the author Jens G. Pohl was affiliated with the University of New South Wales - Kensington. Currently, July 2008, he is professor of Architecture and Executive Director of the Collaborative Agent Design Research Center at California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo.

Abstract

Recently, over a three-year period, a new concept of multi-storey building construction based on pneumatic principles was investigated in the Department of Architectural Science at the University of Sydney, Australia. The results of this research, which formed the basis of a doctorate thesis l and various technical publications, have indicated that multi-storey buildings supported by internal air-pressure and surrounded by a thin, flexible or rigid membrane acting both as structural container and external cladding, are feasible and highly economical for a number of building applications. This article by Jens G. Pohl, Faculty of Architecture, University of New South Wales, Kensington, and Henry J. Cowan, Department of Architectural Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, describes those elements of the thesis which are useful for practitioners.

Disciplines

Architecture