Design to Robotic Production for Informed Materialization Processes

Design to Robotic Production (D2RP) establishes links between digital design and production in order to achieve informed materialization at an architectural scale. D2RP research is being discussed under the computation, automation and materialization themes, by reference to customizable digital design means, robotic fabrication setups and informed materialization strategies implemented by the Robotic Building group at Hyperbody, TU Delft

Robotically driven construction of buildings: Exploring on-demand building components production

Robotically Driven Construction of Buildings (RDCB) is an exploration into design to production solutions for robotically driven construction of buildings initiated by the faculties of Civil Engineering and Architecture, TU Delft and Architecture, TU Eindhoven and implemented 2014 within the 3TU Lighthouse framework. The aim of was to involve the disciplines of architecture, robotics, materials science, and structural design in order to integrate knowledge from the individual disciplines and develop new numerically controlled manufacturing techniques and building-design optimisation methods for adding creative value to buildings in a cost-effective and sustainable way.RDCB builds up on expertise developed at Hyperbody with respect to applications of robotics in architecture and this paper presents the contribution of the Robotic Building team from Hyperbody, Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft to the RDCB project. The contribution is in line with Europe’s aim to improve material and energy efficiency of buildings and efficiency of construction processes. Robotically driven construction and customised building materials have the potential to realise this in a cost-effective way and at the same time reduce accidents and health hazards for workers in the building sector. In order to achieve this RDCB is distributing materials as needed and where needed. This requires exploration of a variety of techniques and implies working with customised materials and techniques while finding the best methods of applying materials in the logic of specific force flows or thermal dissipation patterns.RDCB advances multi- and trans-disciplinary knowledge in robotically driven construction by designing and engineering new building systems for the on-demand production of customisable building components (Bier, 2014). The main consideration is that in architecture and building construction the factory of the future employs building materials and components that can be on site robotically processed and assembled

A bending-active gridshell as falsework and integrated reinforcement for a ribbed concrete shell with textile shuttering: Design, engineering, and construction of KnitNervi

This paper presents a formwork system consisting of a bending-active gridshell that simultaneously serves as falsework and integrated reinforcement for realising a ribbed funicular concrete skeleton shell. Encased by a knitted textile shuttering, the formwork system was demonstrated through KnitNervi, an architectural-scale, funnel-shaped demonstrator measuring 9 m in diameter and 3.3 m in height. The gridshell is materialised from straight steel rebar actively bent into curvilinear, double-layered rebar cages. Regular stirrups and pairs of inclined stirrups forming triangulated shear connectors provide the necessary shape control and stiffness for the load-bearing falsework. The rebar cages define the shape of the concrete ribs by supporting a knitted closed sectional mould and stay in place to structurally reinforce the resulting ribs. The focus of this paper lies on the falsework and reinforcement system with its interrelated design drivers. The geometric design includes the funicular form finding of the target shell with Thrust Network Analysis and the incremental form finding of the bending-active gridshell with its informed assembly sequence towards the funicular target with Finite Element Analysis. The engineering of the falsework demonstrates its sufficient load-bearing capacity and deflection control to support the weight of the wet concrete at an architectural scale. Sensitivity studies reveal the effectiveness of activating the double layer through the shear-connecting stirrups, the relevance of the internal connection design, and the geometric integrity during a potential stepwise casting sequence. The construction of the demonstrator verified the shape control and fabrication design. In only 36 h, the bespoke falsework gridshell was efficiently assembled from its kit-of-parts of standard rebar elements with adequate precision, logistics, time, and material resources. It was relatively lightweight, compact for transport, and employed low-tech construction techniques common to the rebar industry. Its structural geometry and informed bending-active logic enabled its efficient construction without digital fabrication or wasteful, costly moulds, which typically present the bottleneck for custom concrete structures. The resulting funicular concrete skeleton shell saves structural mass, hence embodied carbon, compared to unarticulated bending-dominant typologies. The overarching motivation of the research is to outline a strategy that could mitigate the environmental impact of the construction sector, applicable to a broad range of technological contexts.ISSN:2352-012

A bending-active gridshell as falsework and integrated reinforcement for a ribbed concrete shell with textile shuttering: Design, engineering, and construction of KnitNervi

This paper presents a formwork system consisting of a bending-active gridshell that simultaneously serves as falsework and integrated reinforcement for realising a ribbed funicular concrete skeleton shell. Encased by a knitted textile shuttering, the formwork system was demonstrated through KnitNervi, an architectural-scale, funnel-shaped demonstrator measuring 9 m in diameter and 3.3 m in height. The gridshell is materialised from straight steel rebar actively bent into curvilinear, double-layered rebar cages. Regular stirrups and pairs of inclined stirrups forming triangulated shear connectors provide the necessary shape control and stiffness for the load-bearing falsework. The rebar cages define the shape of the concrete ribs by supporting a knitted closed sectional mould and stay in place to structurally reinforce the resulting ribs. The focus of this paper lies on the falsework and reinforcement system with its interrelated design drivers. The geometric design includes the funicular form finding of the target shell with Thrust Network Analysis and the incremental form finding of the bending-active gridshell with its informed assembly sequence towards the funicular target with Finite Element Analysis. The engineering of the falsework demonstrates its sufficient load-bearing capacity and deflection control to support the weight of the wet concrete at an architectural scale. Sensitivity studies reveal the effectiveness of activating the double layer through the shear-connecting stirrups, the relevance of the internal connection design, and the geometric integrity during a potential stepwise casting sequence. The construction of the demonstrator verified the shape control and fabrication design. In only 36 h, the bespoke falsework gridshell was efficiently assembled from its kit-of-parts of standard rebar elements with adequate precision, logistics, time, and material resources. It was relatively lightweight, compact for transport, and employed low-tech construction techniques common to the rebar industry. Its structural geometry and informed bending-active logic enabled its efficient construction without digital fabrication or wasteful, costly moulds, which typically present the bottleneck for custom concrete structures. The resulting funicular concrete skeleton shell saves structural mass, hence embodied carbon, compared to unarticulated bending-dominant typologies. The overarching motivation of the research is to outline a strategy that could mitigate the environmental impact of the construction sector, applicable to a broad range of technological contexts.Applied Mechanic

Design-to-Fabrication Workflow for Bending-Active Gridshells as Stay-in-Place Falsework and Reinforcement for Ribbed Concrete Shell Structures

Facing the challenges of our environmental crisis, the AEC sector must significantly lower its carbon footprint and use of first-use resources. A specific target is the reduction of the amount of concrete used. Funicular structures that base their strength on their structurally-informed geometry allow for material efficiency. However, a bottleneck for their construction lies in their costly and wasteful formworks and complex reinforcement placement.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Applied Mechanic