Freeform Engineering

Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners

Production-design and optimisation for the efficient manufacturing of GRC-cladding panels. The facades of the five exhibition halls of the UAE’s Sheikh Zayed National Museum are built from hundreds of uniquely shaped panels. Each panel has it’s own supporting frame, composed from cold-bent steel profiles with which it is mounted to the substructure.

External skin and Pod interface with main structure

The shape of the room is defined by a numerically defined freeform surface, given by the architectural design. From these surfaces the geometry of all facade panels, frames and supporting structures are derived.