The original and full post was published on the school's blog
Dennis Poon began his lecture from the very beginning of his career in regards to Thornton Tomasetti: as a waiter, serving a customer who would connect him to the firm. Humble, energetic and encouraging, Dennis gave Martin's and Loukia's studios an intriguing lecture about the basic and not-so-basic structures the of mega skyscrapers, an essential topic for our vertical housing studio.
From multi-axis elevators to super columns, massive damping systems to vortex shedding, Dennis gave the studios a detailed overview of important concepts that go into the planning and execution of some of the world's largest, tallest, and in other ways innovative architectural structures. The audiences went into the most detail about the Shanghai Tower, learning about concepts such as the importance of its aerodynamic wind-tunnel studies, how its twisting facade was possible, and the tower's ability to recapture the air circulation between its curtain walls.