Integrated Design and Fabrication Strategies for Fibrous Structures

Abstract

The aim of the research presented in this paper is to examine the potential of integrated computational design methods for the development of complex fibre-based structures for architectural applications. While in today’s building industry structural systems still rely on a set of well known typologies, integrated computational design strategies offer the opportunity to break down traditional strategies and develop new resource efficient architectural systems by synthesizing the material constraints, structural performance and digital production from the very beginning. The approach continues previous integrated design research at the Institute for Computational Design (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) on fibre-based structures with a mould-less winding technique. This is discussed through the implementation of a full-scale architectural prototype with a pneumatic formwork that reduces the necessary formwork for fibre composite to the minimum and serves after fabrication as envelope. The paper focuses on the project-oriented integrated design strategies, including the challenges and the implementation of new process-specific computational tools.