IASS - Asociación Internacional para Shell y Estructuras Espaciales

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International Association for Shell Structures (IASS)

History of the Association  In September 1959, the world-famous structural engineer Eduardo Torroja   organized and convened an International Colloquium on Shell Structures   in Madrid.  During this Colloquium, Professor Torroja proposed the   founding of the International Association for Shell Structures (IASS),   because at that time shell structures were frequently used all over the   world to roof buildings of all sorts, e.g., sports facilities,   exhibition halls and industrial plants, as well as to fulfill industrial   purposes through such structures as tanks, silos and cooling towers.    He wanted to create a platform where the top scientists, designers and   constructors of the world would meet and exchange their ideas and   experiences.  There should be regular meetings, correspondence and a   bulletin published regularly.  His proposal was enthusiastically   accepted by the distinguished group of designers and engineers at the   colloquium, and the IASS was born with Prof. Torroja as both the   inspiration and the founding president. 

Since that time   the Association has developed and become an internationally renowned   institution of high quality, attracting a great number of distinguished   members.  Regularly, Symposia,  Colloquia and Conferences took place all over the world, and a number of Working Groups undertook all kinds of efforts concerning the design, analysis and construction of shells. In the Bulletin of the IASS (the predecessor to the current Journal of the IASS)  a wide range of theoretical and practical problems were treated, and both small and important buildings were described.

In the late 1960s,   changes were occurring in the building industry.  New sorts of   construction began to flourish for large spans -- spatial structures of   steel, timber and fabrics -- while shells became less frequent.    Consequently the purpose and scope of the Association were enlarged, as   represented by the change in name effective in 1970 to the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, although the acronym and logo of the Association remained IASS to   help preserve the heritage of the organization.  Since that time, the   IASS has treated the design, analysis, construction and research for   practically all kinds of buildings and other long-span, light-weight   structures.  In 1995, to reflect its influence on the fields of shell   and spatial structures, the name of the Bulletin of the IASS was changed to the Journal of the IASS, while it continued to be published three times per year. 

A number of well known specialists in these fields of structures have served as Presidents,   and other distinguished architects, engineers and academics have   collaborated voluntarily with the Association in the Executive Council   and Advisory Board.  Hundreds of authors have contributed to the   Bulletin and Journal , belonged to the Working Groups, and attended the   Symposia and Colloquia.  The IASS has continually recognized both   established and young contributors to the field by such awards as Honorary Membership, the Eduardo Torroja Medal, the Tsuboi Awards, and the Hangai Prizes. 

Traditionally, the Secretariat headquarters is located in Madrid, Spain, in the same place where the IASS   was founded while Eduardo Torroja was its Director, the Laboratorio   Central de Estructuras y Materiales, integrated into a wider   organization: CEDEX or Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras   Públicas.

With the launching   of this new website for the IASS in November 2007, the Journal of the   IASS embarks upon a new development, the publication of an electronic   version on this site that promises to reach an even wider audience in   the current day and age of enhanced communication. 

In 2009, the IASS will celebrate its 50th anniversary at its Jubilee Symposium to be held in Valencia, Spain.  In preparation for this landmark in the life of the Association, an ad hoc committee is   organizing and creating a volume, "Fifty Years of Shell and Spatial   Structures," that will be published to coincide with that year's Annual   IASS Symposium.  As part of that effort, the committee is researching   the organization's archives to re-compile more complete records of   symposia, colloquia and conferences.  It is also planned to digitize,   archive and make available to a wider audience both past issues of the   Journal and the proceedings of former annual Symposia.