John Argyris and His Decisive Contribution in the Development of Light-weight Structures. Form Follows Force

This presentation contains an introductory outline of the biography and major achievements of John H. Argyris in the area of computational mechanics, emphasizing their influences on the development of lightweight structures. His contribution to the development of the Finite Element Analysis and his subsequent influential work at the University of Stuttgart are also addressed herein. The main areas of interest are the numerical methods of analysis initiated by John Argyris on the design of long-span net structures, since their origin, in the early 70ies. The design methodology applied for the first time at the University of Stuttgart at that time, based on computer applications of analysis is briefly documented. Most important, reference throughout the presentation is made to the cable-net structure for the roof of Munich 1972 Olympics-Arenas. The particular project, the first of its kind worldwide, represents historically the first architectural-engineering, holistic design approach of long-span cable-net structures, attaining the borders of structural engineering of its time. The structural requirements demanded equilibrium between the architectural form concept and the structural analysis; the latter is based on the concept of form finding as an interactive result of defined loading case, and led to the first large-scale computer applications. Further developments from John Argyris and his research team are highlighted herein in the respective interdisciplinary research, which followed at the University of Stuttgart in the time range of the subsequent 15 years, ever since being invaluable in structural engineering and the development of high-technology architecture.