Complex Surface Construction using Planar Quadrilateral Meshing

Many designers are inspired by the geometric possibilities of free form structures generated from parametric digital modeling, but these forms pose challenges for constructing elegant and optimal complex forms. Complex form resolution is typically achieved using planar triangulated tessellations. This results in many more structural members and different planar surfaces than conventional quadrilateral arrangements, making these structures expensive to construct.

Aesthetically they are visually 'busy’ and sometimes geometrically chaotic. The authors present an approach to generating quadrilateral surface discretization derived from generalized conjugate curve networks to create planar quadrilateral panels, which integrates with structural support lines to form more coherent layouts and simpler junctions in the structuring of surfaces.