Stressed Skins from CITA (The Centre for Information Technology and Architecture) is a material and architectural  research project that uses new technologies to explore a very old idea – that through cold working, steel can be made stronger. Through the design of a light weight, stressed-skin structure, the project investigates how a very thin, easily bent material can become a strong structure.

The project develops calculation and simulation methods that control the geometric forming of the steel, and incorporate the resulting material properties into the design process. Each panel is formed by a robot directly linked to a 3D computer model. The pattern on the each panel relates directly to the structural forces within it, and the need for rigidity.

Stressed Skins has been exhibited at the Danish Design Museum as well as most recently at Material Xperience 2016 at Ahoy, Rotterdam.

You can watch a video of the mounting, forming and finishing of one of the panels from Stressed Skin here.