The pursuit of high-performance, lightweight structures has gained immense momentum due to the combined forces of environmental sustainability goals and advances in materials, manufacturing, and computational techniques. This Research Topic delves into the transformative impact of evolving structural forms on traditional approaches to stability and safety. On the other hand, structural stability is a cornerstone in ensuring the safety of built environments. With the global imperative of achieving net-zero targets and the concurrent advancements in numerical simulation techniques, materials, and manufacturing technologies, the pursuit of high-performance, lightweight structures is not only within reach but has turned crucial. This, however, brings forth a new set of challenges and opportunities, as the susceptibility to structural instability increases. This Research Topic aims to explore these challenges and opportunities, shedding light on both the safety concerns and the paradigm shifts in the approach to new structural forms and structural stability.

This Research Topic aspires to be a comprehensive exploration of the current state, challenges, and future directions in structural stability research as well as new forms of structures. By bringing together contributions from diverse areas, it aims to foster a holistic understanding of new structural forms and structural stability, acknowledging both its traditional role in safety and its evolving significance in achieving functional, sustainable, and resilient structures. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to contribute their insights to enrich this discourse and drive the field forward.

Key themes include, but are not limited to:

• Stability Design Theory for Green Infrastructures: Contributions are invited on the stability design theories tailored for green infrastructures, including but not limited to offshore wind turbines, solar farm structures, and hydrogen storage tanks. As these structures play a pivotal role in sustainable energy solutions, understanding and mitigating their structural stability challenges are paramount.

• Development of New Design Guidelines for Novel Forms: This theme encourages contributions addressing knowledge gaps and proposing new frameworks for the safe and efficient implementation of novel structural forms.

• Stability of Novel Structural Forms, Materials, and Manufacturing Techniques: This theme welcomes discussions on the stability considerations of emerging structural forms, materials, and innovative manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing. As these technologies become more prevalent, ensuring their stability under various conditions is critical for their widespread application.

• Functionalized Nonlinear Structures: Contrary to traditional views on structural instability, this theme encourages contributions that explore the intentional exploitation of large deformations for novel functionality. Potential topics include mechanical metamaterials, shape-shifting adaptive structures, and their applications in civil and architectural engineering.

• Structural Health Monitoring of Slender Structures and New Forms of Structures: This topic invites contributions on advanced structural health monitoring techniques for slender structures susceptible to buckling failure as well as new forms of structures. Understanding and detecting the precursors of instability in slender structures and failure of new forms of structures are crucial for proactive maintenance and safety.

• Advances in Experimental Techniques: The Research Topic seeks contributions that showcase recent advancements in experimental techniques related to structural stability and new forms of structures. From laboratory experiments to field tests, these advancements contribute to a deeper understanding of real-world structural behaviors.

• Advances in Numerical Techniques: This theme welcomes discussions on the latest numerical techniques for analyzing and predicting structural stability and new forms of structures. As computational capabilities evolve, exploring new methods for more accurate and efficient stability analyses is essential.

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Frontiers in Built Environment

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