Developable surfaces in contemporary architecture

Abstract

Developable surfaces (tangential developables, in special cases cylinders and cones) are ruled surfaces with vanishing Gaussian curvature and can therefore be unfolded to the plane without distortions. In this article we will survey and discuss examples of the use of developable surfaces in contemporary architecture. We also discuss software for aiding architects, designers, engineers and artists to explore their ideas for the use of developable surfaces for such purposes.