The Evolution of Shell Lace Structure, published in 2014, expands on the topic and is available to purchase here.

Sea shells gain strength from curvilinear geometry, growing in thin layers over a long period of time, growing only where they need to. As flamboyant and daring as gothic vaults, which rely upon mass for their compressive strength, shells nevertheless demonstrate optimum structural principles. Lessons from tailoring demonstrate how pattern cutting thin flat sheet material can creates stiff three-dimensional form. Curvatures, together with corrugations, lock in the stiffness. Perforations minimise weight by removing material where the structure requires less strength, bringing the added delight of visual connection and refinement of scale and lightness.

Similar to the ways seashells gain their strength from optimised curvilinear geometry, Shell Lace Structure takes advantage of these forms to provide added stiffness as a result of corrugations. The lightweight quality of the structure itself is made possible by strategically placed perforations. The technique for the construction has been developed through research and experimentation with digital modelling, analysis, and fabrication tools. In a design process that is simultaneously intuitive, analytical, and iterative, researchers developed three-dimensional geometries built up virtually from “conjoined developable surfaces.” these surfaces are then “unzipped at the seams, unrolled, and nested” making it possible to cut them from flat material in sheets with the aid of computers. These cut profiles are then reassembled to produce the final three-dimensional form.

The Shell Lace Structure technique was discovered by Tonkin Liu in 2009 through empirical experimentation that combined knowledge of mollusc shell geometries with the traditional craft of tailoring.

In conjunction with empirical lessons, digital design and fabrication tools make possible a variety of structural types. These active surface structures bring together the conventional engineering fields of shell design and folded plate structures to create strong, ultra-light, free organic forms.

The development of the novel technique was carried out through a series of architectural competitions, resulting in several wins and built structures prior to the tower of light. In 2014, an RIBA research grant was awarded to Shell Lace Structure, and an exhibition held at the RIBA headquarters with an accompanying catalogue, The Evolution of Shell Lace Structure.