The International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) has focused on advancing design, engineering, materials and methods since its foundation in 1959. It attracts architects, engineers, and practitioners who play crucial roles in the integration of structural engineering and architecture. The Swiss engineer Heinz Isler was an IASS founding member, and Switzerland has a renowned history in this domain and in the association. IASS Memberships
The 2024 IASS Symposium was held at ETH Zurich in August 2024. Situated in the heart of Europe and established in 1855, ETH Zurich is one of the global leading universities in science and technology and is known for its cutting-edge research and innovation. ETH Zurich’s world-renowned Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering and Department of Architecture both have a long history of structural design excellence. As the Alma Mater for engineers such as Carl Culmann, Othmar Ammann, Robert Maillart, Heinz Isler, Christian Menn, Santiago Calatrava and Joseph Schwartz, ETH Zurich maintains both a historic and a contemporary leading position in structural design research. This position is currently exemplified by an estimable strategic commitment to collaborative research on digital fabrication and industrialised construction with impressive research facilities and its engagement with the symposium host: the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication.
IASS 2024 THEME: Redefining the Art of Structural Design
The main thematic focus of IASS 2024 is the historic and ongoing intersection of technology with informed expression in structural design. The theme of the symposium will be Redefining the Art of Structural Design, acknowledged the exemplary history of the IASS and new groundbreaking innovations in our field. The symposium further developed the classic characteristics of structural design – Efficiency, Economy and Elegance – and proposed to extend them with Environment and Ethics to robustly address the current challenges faced by our discipline and planet.