Structural optimization vs. shape design

Technological progress and increasing development of IT industry gave access to designers all over the world to better performing software solutions and hardware resources, which have highly revolutionized the shape creation processes. From the demigod-creator role of the architect to the immanent (and more contemporary) CAD-user one, we gradually have to think about the man/machine relation by keeping strongly connected the 'ethic requirements' and the 'creative needs' of the architectural project, which simply cannot disregard the Vitruvian firmitas concept. The aim of this research is to explore the range of possibilities offered by a different operative approach to the architectural shape creation phase, a methodology starting with a deep and preliminary investigation on structural requirements, to define a flexible range of formal solutions, each one responding to consistency, necessity and expedience principles.