Form finding and analysis of tension space structures by dynamic relaxation

The thesis is submitted on the basis of papers published between April, 1974 and July, 1976 (chapters 2-8). Minor editing of the papers has been carried out for the sake of continuity of the thesis as a whole. Since each of the papers was written to be largely self-contained, however, a certain amount of repetition, particular to introductory remarks, is unavoidable. For this reason the "contents" lists only those sections which introduce new material. Chapter appendices have been placed immediately following the papers to which they refer. In the majority of cases these were not included with the original texts, but have been added here to expand on points mentioned in the papers or dealt with during presentation. The report supporting the submission is given in two sections: an introduction reviewing the behaviour and analytical requirements of tension structures which relates subsequent chapters to other publications, and a conclusion correlating the papers into an overall context of interactive design and analysis. For the sake of completeness as a thesis, main appendices A-D have been included at the end of the thesis to give comprehensive reviews of published work relating respectively to static analysis, form: -finding, dynamic analy1sis, and the development and mathematical basis of dynamic relaxation. References in these appendices and the introduction (chapter 1) are contained in the main bibliography, appendix E