Top Opt Shell is a monumental free-form concrete sculpture in Mexico City.

Challenging the traditional mode of creative practices where the design precedes the analysis, we developed a design workflow using inverse engineering analysis to mediate the design aesthetics, structural performance, material ecology, and existent construction craft.

The shell uses topological optimization as its generative creative force, the results were then iteratively modelled and analysed to satisfy design aesthetics, structural performance, material consumption and traditional construction craft techniques, these all both converge and get consolidated in an elegant solution.

The shell was a milestone in the continuous efforts of R-Ex to merge the most innovative and efficient design methods pushing both quantitative structural performance and qualitative design with the existent mexican construction trades and their inherent material knowledge. The shell was built in 10 days.

A collaboration with:

Alicia Nahmad (R-Ex)
Shajay Bhooshan (ZHCODE)
Mustafa El Sayed (ZHCODE)
Chikara Inamura (Matsuro Sasaki Engineers)
Asbjorn Sondergaard (ODICO)
Josh Zabel (Kreysler Associates)