Hyperboloid structure

Hyperboloid structures are architectural structures designed using a hyperboloid in one sheet. Often these are tall structures, such as towers, where the hyperboloid geometry's structural strength is used to support an object high above the ground. Hyperboloid geometry is often used for decorative effect as well as structural economy. The first hyperboloid structures were built by Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov (1853–1939), including the Shukhov Tower in Polibino, Dankovsky District, Lipetsk Oblast, Russia.

A hyperbolic paraboloid structure (also called a hypar) is a load-bearing structure with the shape of a truncated region of an infinite hyperbolic paraboloid. It's a doubly ruled and saddle surface, with perpendicular cross sections shaped like a hyperbola and a parabola. In architecture, it is often used as a saddle roof, which can be easily built using linear supports (straight line segments). In biology, it forms naturally a strong surface that won't buckle under compression.