Curved Forms 5

Source: Jong Soo (Peter) Lee @ Flickr 

Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia, 1973 designed by Jørn Utzon

a solution that consisted of a ribbed system of precast concrete shells created from sections of a sphere. This system permitted each rib to be built up of a number of standard segments cast in a common mold at the site. Utzon wanted the shells to be portrayed like large while sails in contrast to the deep blue waters of the ocean it stood upon. In order to achieve this aesthetic the shells are covered with 1,056,066 ceramic tiles made in Sweden from clay and crushed stone. Along with the placement of the tiles, it took eleven years to complete the iconic roof structure.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Futo-Tussauds

Lotus Temple, New Delhi, India, 1986 designed by Fariborz Sahba

the Lotus temple is organized as a nine-sided circular structure that is comprised of twenty-seven “leaves” (marble-clad free-standing concrete slabs), organized in groups of three on each of the temple’s nine sides.  The structure is inspired by the lotus flower and is arguably one of the most visible instances of biomimicry in contemporary architecture.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Richard Meier & Partners

Jubilee Church, Rome, Italy, 2003 designed by Richard Meier & Partners

These three walls vary in height and are, in fact, segments of a sphere. Each shell is built of pre-cast  concrete segments, post-tensioned in situ; by virtue of the curvature in plan, each is independently supported. -- architect's web site

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Source: shepleybulfinch.com

Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, University of Maine, Augusta, Maine, 2007 designed by Shepley Bulfinch

The design concept, based on the metaphor of a flower, creates fringes of a "calyx": walls pull away to define the exhibit space, gather light into the building, and provide circulation. Symbolizing the fragility of democracy and human rights, the innermost permanent gallery is a "bud" tucked into the folds of a larger program space for learning and reflection. The outer, shell-like facades "protect" the interior, flower-like space. The permanent gallery features a sophisticated multi-media program.  -- architect'e web site