Assistant Professor of Architecture Masoud Akbarzadeh and Dr. Andrei Nejur developed PolyFrame Beta at the Polyhedral Structures Laboratory (PSL).
PolyFrame Beta is a geometry-based, structural form-finding plugin for Rhinoceros3d, the popular computer-aided design application, that allows architects and structural designers to explore a variety of unconventional spatial structural forms—accessing possibilities that they could not discover or design before. The software was released in September of 2018 on Food4Rhino.com, the online platform for industry-leading software developers.
PolyFrame Beta is based on the geometric principles of equilibrium of forces in 3D known as 3D graphic statics. With PolyFrame Beta, designers can use the computing framework to design and manipulate the flow of forces in 3D and develop efficient structural forms. The resulting conceptual forms represent the optimal structural solutions based on the designer’s specified boundary condition, including factors like support locations and the magnitude of applied loads. These solutions minimize the use of structural materials and construction costs while preserving the structural efficiency.