An Experimental Approach to Use Foldable Fabric-Formwork in Digital Craftsmanship

Abstract

Concrete is one of the most commonly utilized materials in the field of architecture. Nevertheless, there has been insufficient research into the natural fluidity properties of concrete. Concrete is typically poured into static molds, which constrains its potential applications. Nevertheless, the combination of fabric and concrete offers new possibilities in the field of architecture. The incorporation of flexible fabric materials into architectural designs enhances the aesthetic appeal of spaces by complementing the organic forms and textures of buildings. Meanwhile the incorporation of concrete into the structural frameworks provides strength and durability. Furthermore, the fabrigami technique, which draws inspiration from origami, enables the creation of dynamic mold when applied to fabric. The deployment of the mold results in unpredictable formation of a wide variety of shapes when concrete is poured into it. the objective of this paper is to examine the variety of forms that emerge from the interaction between deployable fabric molds and concrete. The methodology of this study comprises three stages, which are: i) the selection of the crease pattern for the unit, ii) the design of the deployable formwork system based on the selected unit pattern, and iii) the casting of concrete into fabric molds. These stages involve a feedback loop between the computational and analog modelling approaches. To investigate the potential of different form alternatives, a series of physical experiments were conducted. The experiments conducted revealed that the resulting forms were significantly influenced by the material mixture, the type and properties of the fabric, and the mold structure. Consequently, to ascertain the veracity of the physical products generated, simulations were initially conducted in a computational design environment following the pouring concrete. Thereafter the physical products were 3D scanned with a comparison subsequently made. The findings indicate that the utilization of dynamic molds holds significant potential for future applications in various fields including engineering, architecture, and art.

Keywords

• Concrete
• Fabric Formwork
• Fabrigami
• Folding

Dijital Zanaatkarlıkta Katlanabilir Kumaş Kalıp Kullanımına Yönelik Deneysel Bir Yaklaşım

Abstract

Beton, mimarlık alanında en yaygın kullanılan malzemelerden biridir. Ancak betonun doğal akışkanlık özellikleri üzerine yeterli çalışma yapılmamıştır. Genel olarak beton, statik kalıplara dökülerek kullanılır ve bu da malzemenin sınırlı bir şekilde değerlendirilmesine neden olur. Bununla birlikte, kumaş ve betonun birlikteliği mimaride yeni olanaklar sunmaktadır. Esnek kumaş malzemeler, binaların organik form ve dokularını destekleyerek mekanın estetiğini zenginleştirirken, beton ise mukavemet sağlayarak yapıya dayanıklılık katmaktadır. Ayrıca, origami prensiplerinden ilham alan fabrigami tekniği, kumaş üzerinde uygulandığında dinamik bir kalıp oluşturmaktadır. Bu konuşlandırılabilir kalıba beton döküldüğünde, ortaya çıkan form tahmin edilemez ve çok çeşitli şekiller oluşturur. Bu nedenle, bu çalışmada konuşlandırılabilir kumaş kalıp ve betonun işbirliği sonucu ortaya çıkan form çeşitliliğinin keşfedilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Bu çalışma üç aşamadan oluşur: i) birim deseninin seçilmesi, ii) seçilen birim desen vasıtasıyla konuşlandırılabilir kalıp sistemi tasarımı, iii) betonun kumaş kalıplara dökülmesi. Farklı form alternatiflerini görebilmek için çeşitli fiziksel deneyler yapılmıştır. Bu deneylerin ışığı altında, ortaya çıkan formlar üzerinde malzeme karışımı, kumaş cinsi ve özelliği, ve kalıp strüktürünün etkili olduğu görülmüştür. Sonuç olarak, elde edilen fiziksel ürünlerin dijital ortamla doğruluğunu test etmek için ilk önce hesaplamalı tasarım ortamında beton döküldükten sonraki simülasyonu yapılmıştır. Daha sonra 3B sayısal tarama yöntemleri kullanılarak fiziksel ürünler taratılmış ve bir karşılaştırma yapılmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular, gelecekte dinamik kalıpların kullanımının mühendislik, mimarlık ve sanat gibi birçok alanda kullanılabilecek yeni potansiyeller taşıdığını göstermektedir.

Keywords

• Beton
• Fabrigami
• Katlama
• Kumaş Kalıp

References

1. Ahmed, S., Kamel, A., & Mahmoud, W. (2020). Methodology for using origami in designing deployable shelters. Journal of Design Sciences and Applied Arts/Journal of Design Sciences and Applied Arts, 1(2), 20–37. https://doi.org/10.21608/jdsaa.2020.28469.1016
2. Akçay Kavakoğlu, A. (2020). Beyond Material: Digital Tectonics of Fabric and Concrete. In L. C. Werner, & D. Koering (Eds.), Anthropologic - Architecture and Fabrication in the cognitive age- Proceedings of the 38th eCAADe Conference - Volume 1, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 16-18 September 2020, pp. 89-96. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2020.1.089
3. Boon, S. (2024). Work. Studio Samira Boon. Retrieved August 16, 2024, from https://www.samiraboon.com/work
4. Hawkins, W., Orr, J., Shepherd, P., & Ibell, T. (2016, August 29). Fabric formed concrete: physical modelling for assessment of digital form finding methods. Paper presented at 11th fib International PhD Symposium in Civil Engineering, Tokyo, Japan.
5. https://researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publications/fabric-formed- concrete-physical-modelling-for-assessment-of-digit
6. Huang, L., & Belton, S. (2014). A Negotiated Materiality: Allographic Practices with Autographic Effects. In What’s the Matter? Materiality and Materialism at the Age of Computation, International Conference, COAC, ETSAB, ETSAV, Barcelona, 149-161. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375342175_A_Negotiate d_Materiality_Allographic_Practices_with_Autographic_Effects/citat ions Jackson, P. (2011). Folding techniques for designers: From sheet to form (2nd ed.). Laurence King Publishing.
7. https://www.laurenceking.com/products/folding-techniques-for- designers-second-edition
8. Kilian, A. (2007). The question of the underlying model and its impact on design. In E. Abruzzo, E. Ellingsen, & JD. Solomon (Eds.), 306090 Books (pp. 208-213). Princeton University Press.

9. https://research.tudelft.nl/en/publications/the-question-of-the- underlying-model-and-its-impact-on-design
10. Kudless, A. (2009). P_Wall. MATSYS. Retrieved August 16, 2024, from https://www.matsys.design/p_wall-2009
11. Liebringshausen, A., Eversmann, P., & Göbert, A. (2023). Circular, zero waste formwork - Sustainable and reusable systems for complex concrete elements. Journal of Building Engineering, 80, 107696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2023.107696
12. Lloret-Fritschi, E., Choma, J., Scotto, F., Szabo, A., Gramazio, F., Kohler, M., & Flatt, R. J. (2023). In-Crease: less concrete more paper. RILEM Technical Letters, 7, 199–208. https://doi.org/10.21809/rilemtechlett.2022.168
13. Lo, W., Wang, S. (2024). Nonshell: Porous Structure by composite fabric formwork system. In P. Block, G. Boller, C. DeWolf, J. Pauli, & W. Kaufmann (Eds.), Proceedings of the IASS 2024 Symposium: Redefining the Art of Structural Design, August 26-30, 2024, Zurich Switzerland, (pp. 01-10). https://app.iass2024.org/files/IASS_2024_Paper_285_no_copyright.pdf
14. McCullough, M. (1998, September 01). Abstracting Craft: The Practiced Digital Hand. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, USA. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262631891/abstracting-craft/
15. Meibodi, M. A., & Tessmann, O. (2014). Hy[perbolic] Par[aboloid]: Matter and Geometry in a Generative Dialogue. In What’s the Matter? Materiality and Materialism at the Age of Computation, International Conference, COAC, ETSAB, ETSAV, Barcelona, 679-690. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372906781_Hyperbolic_Paraboloid_Matter_and_Geometry_in_a_Generative_Dialogue
16. Orr, J. J., Darby, A. P., Ibell, T. J., Evernden, M. C., & Otlet, M. (2011). Concrete structures using fabric formwork. The Structural Engineer, 89(8), 20- 26. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.17019 Overvelde, J. T., De Jong, T. A., Shevchenko, Y., Becerra, S. A., Whitesides, G.
17. M., Weaver, J. C., Hoberman, C., & Bertoldi, K. (2016). A three- dimensional actuated origami-inspired transformable metamaterial with multiple degrees of freedom. Nature Communications, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10929
18. Parametric House. (2022, September 13). SubD Connection / Grasshopper script. Parametric House. Retrieved August 16, 2024, from https://parametrichouse.com/subd-connection/
19. Pedreschi, R. (2013). Fabric formed concrete structures and architectural elements. In P. J.S. Cruz (Ed.), Structures and Architecture: New concepts, applications and challenge (1st ed., pp. 935–942), Routledge & CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b15267-127
20. Schmitz, R. (2014). Fabric-formed concrete: A novel method for forming concrete structures. In CRC Press eBooks (pp. 193–200). https://doi.org/10.1201/b17190-40
21. Song, K., Li, H., Li, Y., Ma, J., & Zhou, X. (2024). A review of curved crease origami: design, analysis, and applications. Frontiers in Physics, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2024.1393435
22. Szabo, A., Lloret-Fritschi, E., Reiter, L., Gramazio, F., Kohler, M., & Flatt, R. J. (2019). Revisiting Folded Forms with Digital Fabrication. In 37th and 23rd Annual Conferences Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe: Architecture in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution (eCAADe / SIGraDi 2019), 191-200. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2019.2.191
23. Veenendaal, D, and Block, P. (2012). Computational form-finding of fabric formworks: an overview and discussion. The Second International Conference on Flexible Formwork, University of Bath, June 27 29. https://www.block.arch.ethz.ch/brg/files/P35.pdf
24. Wang, C., Yang, C., Li, J., & Zhu, M. (2022). Research on the creative application of origami performance techniques in clothing. Fibres and Textiles in Eastern Europe, 30(4), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.2478/ftee-2022- 0035
25. West, M. (2016, May 12). The Fabric Formwork Book: Methods for Building New Architectural and Structural Forms in Concrete. Routledge & CRC Press. https://www.routledge.com/The-Fabric-Formwork-Book- Methods-for-Building-New-Architectural-and-Structural-Forms-in-Concrete/West/p/book/9780415748865