Christopher John Kenneth Williams is a British

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

and

researcher Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

who has specialised in the relationship between

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

and structural action. He works on a range of building types including thin-shell structures,

gridshell A gridshell is a structure which derives its strength from its double curvature (in a similar way that a fabric structure derives strength from double curvature), but is constructed of a grid or lattice. The grid can be made of any materia ...

s and tension structures, as well as bridges and towers. Williams worked for

Ove Arup Sir Ove Nyquist Arup (16 April 1895 – 5 February 1988) was an English engineer who founded Arup Group Limited, a multinational corporation offering engineering, design, planning, project management, and consultant, consulting services for bu ...

in the 1970s.Chilton & Tang, pp. 52–53, 66 While at Arup, he was involved with the Mannheim Multihalle ( de), a pioneering timber gridshell designed by

Frei Otto Frei Paul Otto (; 31 May 1925 – 9 March 2015) was a German architect and structural engineer noted for his use of lightweight structures, in particular tensile and membrane structures, including the roof of the Olympic Stadium in Munich for t ...

(1975). He has since devoted most of his career to academia, conducting research and teaching at the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

(from 1976) and at

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology (, commonly referred to as Chalmers) is a private university, private research university located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chalmers focuses on engineering and science, but more broadly it also conducts research ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(since 2016). While at Bath, in collaboration with

Deborah Greaves Deborah Mary Greaves (born March 1967) is a British engineer, Professor of Ocean Engineering and Head of the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics at the University of Plymouth. In 2020 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of ...

, he researched the effect of wind on fabric, and he continues to work on the effect of wind on flexible structures. Saville Building roof interior long

Some of Williams' most notable subsequent contributions include: *the geometrical form finding and structural analysis for the glass roof covering the

Queen Elizabeth II Great Court The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, commonly referred to simply as the Great Court, is the covered central quadrangle of the British Museum in London. It was redeveloped during the late 1990s to a design by Foster and Partners, from a 1970s ...

at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

(2000) *form finding for the cardboard gridshell of the Japan Pavilion,

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Expo 2000, Germany (2000) *form finding for the

Weald and Downland Gridshell The Weald and Downland Gridshell (2002) is a building designed by Buro Happold and Edward Cullinan Architects for the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum: it was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2002. The building is a structural wooden grids ...

(2001) *the gridshell of

Savill Building The Savill Building is a visitor centre at the entrance to The Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park, Surrey, England designed by Glen Howells Architects, Buro Happold and Engineers Haskins Robinson Waters. It was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh ...

(2006)Chilton & Tang *

Gardens by the Bay The Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) is an urban park spanning in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden in Marina South, Bay East ...

glasshouses, Singapore (2010) *the glass roof of the Netherlands Maritime Museum (2011) *the glass roof of the

Chadstone Shopping Centre Chadstone Shopping Centre (colloquially known as Chaddy) is a shopping centre located in the south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Malvern East. Chadstone Shopping Centre is the largest indoor shopping centre in Australia by both floor area and nu ...

(2016) He has collaborated with architects and engineers including

Foster + Partners Foster and Partners (also Foster + Partners) is a British international architecture firm with its headquarters in London, England. It was founded in 1967 by British architect and designer Norman Foster. The firm has been involved in the design ...

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners RSHP is a British architectural firm, founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007. The firm rebranded from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to simply RSHP on 30 Ju ...

, Branson Coates Architecture, Shigeru Ban Architects,

Wilkinson Eyre Architects WilkinsonEyre is an international architecture practice based in London, England. In 1983 Chris Wilkinson founded Chris Wilkinson Architects, he partnered with Jim Eyre in 1987 and the practice was renamed WilkinsonEyre in 1999. The practice ...

, Edward Cullinan Architects, Arup,

Atelier One Atelier One is a British structural engineering company, established in 1989 and based in London. The company has collaborated with architects, designers and artists (including Paul cocksedge, Paul Cocksedge, Anish Kapoor and Rachel Whiteread), and ...

and

Buro Happold Buro Happold Limited (previously ''BuroHappold Engineering'') is a British professional services firm that provides engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management, and consulting services for buildings, infrastructure, and the env ...

Bibliography

*S. Adriaenssens, P. Block, D. Veenendaal, and C. Williams, Eds., ''Shell Structures for Architecture: Form Finding and Optimization''. London: Taylor & Francis - Routledge, 2014. *N. Leach, D. Turnbull, C. J. K. Williams, Eds., ''Digital Tectonics''. Chichester, UK: Wiley, 2004.

References

Sources *

External links

Profile at University of BathProfile at Chalmers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Chris J. K. British structural engineers Academics of the University of Bath Academic staff of the Chalmers University of Technology Year of birth missing (living people) Living people