Dr. Yao Lu

Yao Lu is currently a Ph.D. student in the building technology track at the Polyhedral Structures Laboratory, Weitzman School of Design. Yao’s research interest lies at the intersection of design and engineering, hoping to empower architectural design methodologies with interdisciplinary collaborations. He has a great interest in generative design, structural form-finding, computational design techniques, additive manufacturing, and computer graphics. His current research projects include the combination of numerical methods and polyhedral graphic statics for design practices.

RECENT ARTICLES

• Yao Lu, Márton Hablicsek, and Masoud Akbarzadeh. Algebraic 3D graphic statics with edge and vertex constraints: A comprehensive approach to extend the solution space for polyhedral form-finding. Computer-Aided Design, 165:103620, Sep 2023 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cad.2023.103620

• Lu, Yao, Thamer Alsalem, and Masoud Akbarzadeh. “A method for designing multi-layer sheet-based lightweight funicular structures.“Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, 63(4):252–262, Dec 2022  doi:10.20898/j.iass.2022.018
• Lu, Yao, Alireza Seyedahmadian, Philipp Amir Chhadeh, Matthew Cregan, Mohammad Bolhassani, Jens Schneider, Joseph Robert Yost, Gareth Brennan, and Masoud Akbarzadeh. “Funicular glass bridge prototype: design optimization, fabrication, and assembly challenges.” Glass Structures Engineering, 7(2):319–330, Aug 2022 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40940-022-00177-x
• Yost, Joseph Robert, Matthew Cregan, Mohammad Bolhassani, Masoud Akbarzadeh, Yao Lu, Philipp Amir Chhadeh, and Jens Schneider. “Experimental investigation of a transparent interface material for glass compression members.” Challenging Glass Conference Proceedings, 8, Jun 2022 https://doi.org/10.47982/cgc.8.395

CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS

• “Tortuca: An Ultra-Thin Funicular Hollow Glass Bridge ,” Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture Annual Conference, ACADIA 2022, Philadelphia, US. 
• “A method for designing multi-layer sheet-based lightweight funicular structures,” International Conference on Spatial Structures and the Annual Symposium of the IASS, IASS 2022, Beijing, China.
• “Funicular glass bridge prototype: design optimization, fabrication, and assembly challenges,” Challenging Glass Conference 8, Ghent, Belgium. (Presenter), 2022.

SOFTWARE PRODUCTS

• PolyFrame 2 A polyhedral funicular form-finding plug-in for Rhino® and Grasshopper®
• Earthworms A Python scripting environment for Rhino with enhanced interactivity and flexibility