From Lab to Field: Deployable Structures with Articulated Straight Bars in Education

We present a research-led teaching framework for DSASB (Deployable Structures with Articulated Straight Bars) that integrates parametric design, prototyping, and in-situ testing to support sustainability-oriented architectural education. Building on SMiA (Structural Morphology in Architecture) research on scissor-like systems, the framework is delivered through studio, workshop, and field formats across bachelor and master cohorts (Tecnológico de Monterrey, Abdullah Gül University, Nottingham Trent University, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya), with doctoral research feeding directly into full-scale outcomes. Students address real constraints—motion control, joint detailing, tolerances, and assembly logistics—while developing accurate digital kinematics, efficient materialization, and safe 1:1 (full-scale) deployment. The approach links sustainability to measurable performance: minimized transport volume, rapid deployment, reconfiguration, and reuse. Teaching follows an iterative cycle from scale models to computational kinematics (Rhino + Grasshopper), deployed-state checks, and full-scale validation. Qualification uses metrics (deployment time, joint reliability, stiffness under membrane pretension, and material efficiency), demonstrated through two capstone case studies: the self-supporting Tetrapod Pavilion (∽30 m ² ) and the Vertex Pavilion (three deployable arches stabilized by membrane tension).