The IASS

International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS), founded by Eduardo Torroja in 1959, is a non-profit organization.
It has as its goal the achievement of further progress through an interchange of ideas among all those interested in lightweight structural systems such as lattice, tension, membrane, and shell structures, in particular architects, engineers,  builders and academics.

The Association welcomes to membership all individuals and organizations who share its aims. 

Activities of the IASS

To achieve its goals, the Association undertakes the following activities:

• Sponsors the Technical Activities of several Working Groups, publishes their state-of-the-art reports and their recommendations on design and construction, and hosts technical/information sessions of each active group at the annual symposia;
• Publishes a quarterly international journal, the Journal of the IASS in print and on-line;
• Organizes annual International Symposia on themes of general interest to engineers, architects, builders and academics, and publishes the proceedings of these symposia on-line;
• Fosters the organization of one or more Colloquia (specialty conferences) each year by individual Working Groups;
• Co-sponsors or endorses other symposia and conferences, often with partner organizations or associations;
• Confers Honors and Awards to recognize outstanding or rising contributors to the field of shell and spatial structures;
• Co-ordinates through the Liaison Committee with six other civil engineering associations.
  

Administration of the IASS

The Association is governed by its Executive Council, elected by the Members. The Council, in turn, elects the President, Vice Presidents and Treasurer, and appoints Working Group chairmen.  Further details about the organization and administration are given in the page Organization of the IASS

Since the founding of the IASS, the Association Secretariat and Headquarters are at the Laboratorio Central de Estructuras y Materiales of Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas (CEDEX), in Madrid, Spain.