Josep Ignasi de Llorens Duran

J. Llorens has a Ph.D. in Architecture (Barcelona, 1972) and teaches Architectural Technology at the Barcelona School of Architecture. He has been invited as a visiting professor or lecturer to several Universities and Architects’ Associations.

 

The results of his research have been presented in international conferences and symposiums in Barcelona, Brussels, Berlin, Caracas, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Girona, Lyon, Madrid, Miami, Milano, Nagoya, Paris, Sevilla, Shanghai and Sydney. He focuses mainly on experimental designs and works, particularly in the field of tensile structures and textile architecture such as roof membranes, awnings and canopies for restaurants, cafeterias, terraces, stages, discotheques, shopping centres, markets, open air theatres, sport and multipurpose halls, pavilions, squares and streets.

He has been prize winner, finalist or recipient of a special mention in a number of local and international competitions: “Countryside housing” (Madrid), “Sports in Fine Arts” (Madrid), “Refurbishment of the Barcelona Railway Station” (Barcelona), “Innovative technology in Building Construction” (Barcelona), “Decorative Arts Promotion” nominations for architectural and industrial designs, “UNESCO Alexandrina Library” (Egypt), “Amphitheatre Square convertible roof” (Nîmes), “Superspace Dwelling”, 8th Makmax Membrane Design Competition, Taiyo Kogyo & Shinkenchiku-sha Co.Ltd (Tokyo). Exhibitions of his works have been held in Barcelona, Chicago,. Firenze, Ljubljana, Madrid, Paris, Roma, St. Louis (Mo) and Sydney.

 

He is currently consultant at the Technical University of Catalonia, forensic adviser and expert in evaluation of the European Union. He also collaborates with ARQINTEGRAL (C.Garcia-Diego & H.Pöppinghaus) on designing lightweight and tensile structures.

Recent works include: 1998: “Aristides Maillol” sports ground, Barcelona.1999/2000: Venezuela Pavilion and Cafeteria at EXPO 2000 in Hanover. 2002: BP Petrol Station roof, Hospitalet de Llobregat.

 

Researches in progress are the application of tensegrity principles to structural membranes and the implementation of the “Tensile Structures and Textile Construction Details and Connections Data Bank” in the internet.

Links

http://www.upc.es/ca1/cat/recerca/tensilestruc/portada.html
http://www.tensinet.com/database/files/814/4255/BIFID%20TENSION%20DOME.doc

Proceedings

1979:     “Aplicaciones arquitectónicas de las telas recubiertas con resinas sintéticas” in “II Jornadas de Plásticos para la Construcción. Cerramientos e interiorismo”, “Centro Español de Plásticos”, “Palau de Congressos de la Fira de Barcelona”.

 

1986:     “The ENVELAT, a Big Dancing Tent for Local Holidays in Catalunya (Spain)” in “The First International Conference on Lightweight Structures in Architecture”, Unisearch Limited and Lightweight Structures Research Unit, School of Architecture, The University of New South Wales, Sir John Clancy Auditorium, Sidney.

 

1990:     “Membrane structures. Architectural characteristics” in “International Symposium : un bâtiment tout textile. Composite materials with textile reinforcement for use in building construction and related applications”, Lyon, Forum International des Technologies Appliquées du Textile, Université Claude Bernard, the State University of New-York and Institut Textile de France.

1992:     “Textile conditioning of urban space” in “The second International Symposium: Textile Composites in Building Construction”, Lyon. AFREM (Association Française pour la Recherche et Essais de Matériaux), UCBL (Université Claude Bernard) and G3F (CRITT Matériaux Composites et Collage Rhône-Alpes).

 

1994:     “Designing textile structures as a whole”, in “International Techtextil Symposium on Textile Construction”, Messe Frankfurt GMbH, Institut Textile de France, the Textile Institute and Gesamttextil.

 

1995:     “Textile structures: detailing for compatibility” in “Euromech 332, Textile Composites and Textile structures”, Universités de Lyon I and Vrije of Brussels.

 

1995:     “Passive anchors for tensile structures” in “International Symposium: Spatial structures, heritage, present and future”, International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, Politecnico di Milano i Collegio Ingegneri di Milano.

 

1996:     “New retractable roofs on existing buildings. Case study : the Montjuïc swimming pool in Barcelona” in “2nd International Conference MARAS’96: Mobile and rapidly assembled structures”. Wessex Institute of Technology and School of Architecture, Sevilla.

 

2001:     “Translucent roof for the Aristides Maillol sport ground in Barcelona”. “9th International Symposium on Tubular Structures”, International Institute of Welding, Comité Inernational pour le Dèveloppement et l’Étude de la Construction Tubulaire and University of Karlsruhe, Düsseldorf.

 

2001:     “El Pabellón de Venezuela en la Expo 2000 de Hannover” in “II Jornadas Latinoamericanas de Arquitectura y Urbanismo”, Institut Català de Cooperació Iberoamerica-na, Barcelona.

 

2001:     “The Venezuelan Pavilion at the Expo 2000 in Hannover: a 38 m Diameter Retractable Flower” in “IASS 2001 International Symposium on Theory, Design and Realization of Shell and Spatial Structures”, Department of Architecture, Nagoya University, IASS and Architectural Institute of Japan, Nagoya.

 

2003:     “Tensegrity structures for textile roofs” in “Structural Membranes 2003. International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures”, International Center for Numerical Methods in Engineering, Barcelona, Institute for Statics and Dynamics of Aerospace Structures”, Stuttgart

 

2003:     “Details in context. Case studies” in Tensinet Symposium: “Designing tensile architecture”, la Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

 

2004:     “Bifid tension dome for the Forum 2004, Barcelona”, “IASS Symposium on Shell and Spatial Structures from Models to Realization”, Montpellier.

 

2004:     “Aplicaciones del tensegrity a la arquitectura textil” in “2n Congrés Internacional d’Aplicacions Tècniques dels Materials Tèxtils APLIMATEC”, València 2004.

 

2005:     “Atlas razonado de detalles constructivos de las construcciones textiles” in “II Simposio Latino-Americano de Tenso-Estructuras”. Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas.

 

2005:     “Bifid Tensión Dome for the Forum 2004, Barcelona” in “Techtextil Symposium”, Frankfurt.

2005:     “The installation process for membrane structures. Case studies” in “Structural Membranes 2005”, International Conference on Textile Composites and Inflatable Structures”, ECCOMAS Thematic Conference, Stuttgart.

 

2005:     “Much more than span