dbt
2016

Topology Optimisation for a Concrete Slab

Concrete is one of the most consumed products in the world, with more than ten billion tonnes being produced every year. Optimising the use of concrete in prefabricated components can have a global impact in reducing material costs and the carbon footprint of buildings and infrastructure. However, optimisation algorithms often result in highly complex geometries […]

dbt
2016

3D Printed Slab

Topology optimisation can be used as a design method to reduce material without affecting the functionality of an object. Despite being one of the most demanding economic sectors in terms of material consumption, the construction industry has not yet adopted such design methods. This is generally because computational optimisation algorithms produce complex solutions which are difficult […]

2017

3D Printed Reinforced Beam

The 3D Printed Reinforced Beam is part of the ongoing research of Digital Building Technologies into 3D printed, structural building components. Two-sided cantilevering beams, up to 4.5 meters long, are fabricated out of sandstone. Components are 3D printed on a large-scale binder-jetting machine. All seven interlocking segments are dimensioned to fit the printer’s maximum volume. […]

2017

Digital Metal Pavilion:  Shaping Liquid

Project Date: 2016/2017 Digital Metal structure is a 4 meter wide, 6 meter long and 5 meter high space frame that consists of over 200 customised joints and over 400 meters of off-shelf aluminum-profiles. It was set as an experimental project to explore the potential of   3d printing  for producing sand mold to be used […]

2017

Electrical Skin

“Electrical Skin” is a robotically 3D printed free-form façade-panel with integrated lighting. For the first time in architecture, not only the complex form, but also the electric infrastructure are fabricated in a single process. This project showcases how leaps in computation and digital fabrication can revolutionize architectural components.

2017

skelETHon, the Concrete Canoe

3D printed plastic formwork for a fully-functional concrete canoe. The Concrete Canoe Regatta Every other year, a two-day long concrete canoe race takes place in a city in Germany, bringing together a fun sporting competition and the latest advancements in concrete technology. This year, over 1’000 participants from universities from all over Europe raced 90 […]

2016

Digital Grotesque II at Centre Pompidous “Imprimer Le Monde”

Digital Grotesque II – a full-scale 3D printed grotto – has premiered at Centre Pompidou’s ‘Imprimer le monde’ exhibition. This highly ornamental grotto is entirely designed by algorithm and materialized out of 7 tons of printed sandstone. It heralds a highly immersive architecture with a hitherto unseen richness of detail.

2016

DFAB HOUSE – Smart Slab

As a final milestone project for the first phase of the NCCR Digital Fabrication, a 1:1 building demonstrator project at the Empa NEST living laboratory will be realised. Real world innovations at building scale This project will bring together individual research projects within the NCCR Digital Fabrication to create a functioning and inhabited building, designed and fabricated using digital […]