In a world where designs and designers are being pushed to their limits, conventional engineering assumptions are no longer enough. With the rapid advance of computational techniques and processing power, it is now possible to explore solutions which could not have been imagined before.
Ramboll Computational Design was set up to harness the power of the computer as a design tool with the aim of developing digital techniques which enable us to challenge traditional typologies and evolve the new economic solutions for the built environment.
The inspiration for our work is nature and in particular how nature creates efficient solutions which are perfectly adapted to their environments. By writing our own computer code which replicates biological processes, we can start to apply this power to solving engineering problems.
With the application of our in-house code and skills in the interrogation of geometry, we have been able to rationalise complex projects across the world saving time and cost and creating new forms to overcome difficult technical challenges. In this approach the solution emerges from the bottom up and the resulting structural arrangement is one which is completely suited to the forces acting upon it.
Sponsorship of academic research is integral to our development of cutting edge techniques and new approaches to computational design. Our own in-house research has also led to new fields of interest such as digital masterplanning, where technology is being applied to understand and design entire cities.
The RCD Team
Stephen Melville
As well as contributing to the design delivery of our engineering projects, Stephen leads the Ramboll Computational Design Team which is dedicated to the research and application of digital tools for building and masterplan design. Stephen writes a weekly blog for Building Design and is a member of the Bristol Urban Design Forum and RIBA education panel. He is also a part time tutor at the Oxford Brookes School of Architecture and has also tutored or lectured at TU Delft, Texas, Copenhagen, Bristol and Cardiff Universities.
Duncan Horswill
Duncan is a chartered structural engineer who has worked on a wide range of building projects in the UK and overseas with a number of noted architectural practices. During work on various projects involving complex geometries Duncan developed a keen interest in parametric modelling and in 2011 helped launch the RCD team. He now advises engineers and architects on all aspects of geometrical and structural optimisation as well as generating links with industry and academia.
Iain Sproat
Iain joined RCD after returning from Ramboll’s Middle Eastern offices, where he was a key member of the delivery team for Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. He has been an active open source software contributor for many years since his time at Oxford University, being involved in projects as wide ranging as Google Refine, IFC, Freebase and Node.js. Inspired by advances in the Semantic Web and Big Data; Iain looks for opportunities to increase efficiency throughout the construction industry with targeted software development.
John Harding
John is a current doctoral candidate in computational design at The University of Bath. His research is in parametric modelling, multi-objective optimisation and the application of complex systems theory in the design process. Recent advances in computing modelling and analysis have involved rethinking the relationship between architect and engineer, particularly at the concept design stage. His practical application of computational design theory to real world projects has led John to collaborate with various architectural practices during his research.
Harri Lewis
Harri enjoys collaborating with architects, artists and interactive designers to help them realise complex and innovative works. He recently completed his Master of Philosophy degree at The University of Bath as part of their Digital Architectonics program. He has developed a number of interactive applications to help designers create elegant forms with embedded structural logic. Highlights include automated volume filling of complex forms, digital form-finding under gravity and internal pressures, combinations of 3D mesh subdivision and automated structural analysis influencing real-time design processes.
Andreas Bak
Andreas is a graduate engineer with a specialty in Architectural Engineering from the University of Aarhus in Denmark. Last year he finished an MPhil in Digital Architectonics at the University of Bath. The focus of the thesis was to optimize the shape of concrete structures cast in fabric formwork, using a combination between topology optimization algorithms and dynamic relaxation techniques. He joined Ramboll in May 2012 and has already been involved in a variety of projects either as part of the design team or performing preliminary analysis at the conceptual stage.
