From 25 to 29 September 2023, the Summer School of the SPP 2187 of the second funding period took place in Körbecke at Lake Möhne, where around 20 participants from the subprojects exchanged ideas on SPP-relevant topics in expert lectures and practical workshops.

At the start of the Summer School, the participants learned more about using the Stiff3D software in the workshop "Form Optimisation and Form Finding of Spatial Structures" by Prof. Kai-Uwe Bletzinger (Chair of Structural Analysis, TU Munich). The teaching software STIFF is an MS Excel-based (VBA) two-dimensional framework programme and is designed for the quick and targeted assessment of the behaviour of structures and their usability and for the verification of manual calculations.

On the second day, "Geometric concepts for the parametric modelling of doubly curved surfaces" was a workshop with insights into the use of Rhinoceros 3D, a software for computer-aided 3D modelling and computer-aided design. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Daniel Lordick (AG Geometric Modelling and Visualisation, Institute of Geometry, TU Dresden) used examples to show why the use of the software is worthwhile.

Under the workshop title "Mixed Reality - Basics, Applications and Creation of Own Augmented Reality Instructions", exciting questions awaited the participants - including how, for example, visualisation via augmented reality can support quality control, which is an essential basis for deciding whether a particular concrete module can be installed at the intended position. In addition, Dr.-Ing. Mario Wolf (Chair of Digital Engineering, Ruhr University Bochum) offered further insights into the advantages and limitations of virtual reality, VR tracking and training with augmented reality. In addition to presenting use cases, Mario Wolf invited the participants to try out using VR headsets.  

The following varied programme rounded off the Summer School - from building and driving rafts together to the further workshop "Free-formed concrete structures" by Dr.-Ing. Patrick Forman (Chair of Solid Construction, Ruhr University Bochum) and a soft skills seminar "Presenting, performing, communicating successfully", in which the participants learned how to communicate their scientific content successfully.

In addition, the participants were able to exchange ideas in hybrid working group meetings, in which they developed interaction chains for the second funding period as well as initial ideas for structural and virtual demonstrators.