Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Informed Architecture and Plastic Materials. Overview of the Main European Research Paths

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Post-industrial Robotics

  • 391 Accesses

Abstract

A new branch of investigation in the European research context on Informed Architecture is related to the use of digital innovations and plastic elements to design and fabricate units and technological networks as well as architectural organisms in a 1:1 scale. In order to analyze this path, the chapter proposes a series of case studies in which informed morphologies are realized by advanced digital production processes utilizing plastic material systems and their derivates. The selected research outlines the topics of examination and their field of application in the AEC sector. The primary focus is placed on indoor and outdoor performative structures and optimized technological devices able to improve the space comfort perception through intricate geometric configurations. The contribution allows gathering pros and cons in the three different investigative macroareas: performance-based design, material culture, and fabrication process. This analytical examination helps to create a clear research scenario around the topic as well as the definition of an original pathway for future studies, foreseeing the application of these innovative concepts in the building construction sector.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    In cooperation with: EMPA: Kurt Eggenschwiler, Dr. Kurt Heutschi; Research programme: CTI research project; Collaborators:Max Vomhof (project lead), Dr. Ralph Bärtschi, Thomas Cadalbert, Lauren Vasey, Guilherme da Silva Carvalho, Luis Gisler, David Jenny, Clemens Klein; Consultancy: Jürgen Strauss Industry partner: REHAU Vertriebs AG.

  2. 2.

    In cooperation with: Physical Chemistry of Building Materials group (Prof. Dr. Robert J. Flatt), Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich; Collaborators: Norman Hack (project lead), Willi Viktor Lauer; Industry partner: Sika Technology AG, Switzerland.

  3. 3.

    DRL Team: Mattia Santi, Soulaf Aburas, Maria Paula Velasquez, Giannis Nikas. Shajay Bhooshan Studio—Architecture and Urbanism MArch (DRL)—Architectural Association School of Architecture.

References

  1. Aburas S (2016) Automated robotic fabrication for temporary architecture. http://www.designboom.com/architecture/robotic-fabrication-osteobotics-aadrl-05-10-2016/. Accessed 24 May 2016

  2. CasaClima (2016) Osteobotics nuova vita per le architetture temporanee. http://www.casaeclima.com/ar_27118__Osteobotics-nuova-vita-per-architetture-temporanee.html. Accessed 28 July 2016

  3. Design.Lab.Workshop (2015) Design lab workshop’s solar bytes pavilion reacts to solar exposure. http://www.designboom.com/architecture/design-lab-workshop-solar-bytes-pavilion-cleveland-ohio-01-15-201\5/. Accessed 20 June 2016

  4. DRL (2016) Osteobotics. http://drl.aaschool.ac.uk/portfolio/osteobotics-3/ Accessed 17 May 2016

  5. Engelsmann S, Spalding V, Peters F (2010) Plastics: In Architecture and Construction. Birkhauser, Basel

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. Gramazio F, Kohler M, Willmann J (2014) The robotic touch: how Robots change architecture. Park Books, London

    Google Scholar 

  7. Gramazio F, Kohler M (2014) Acoustic Brick. http://gramaziokohler.arch.ethz.ch/web/e/forschung/229.html. Accessed 22 July 2016

  8. Gramazio F, Kohler M (2014) Mesh Mould. http://gramaziokohler.arch.ethz.ch/web/e/forschung/221.html. Accessed 29 July 2016

  9. Hack N, Lauer WW (2014) Mesh-Mould. Made by Robots: Challenging Architecture at a Larger Scale. Wiley, London, pp 44–53

    Google Scholar 

  10. Hack N, Willi W.L, Gramazio F, Kohler M (2014) Mesh Mould: differentiation for enhanced performance. In: Gu N, Watanabe S, Erhan H, Hank Haeusler M, Huang W, Sosa R (eds) Rethinking Comprehensive Design: Speculative Counterculture, Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia, CAADRIA 2014, Hong Kong, pp 139–148

    Google Scholar 

  11. Hack N, Willi WL, Gramazio F, Kohler M, Langenberg S (2014) Mesh Mould: robotically fabricated spatial meshes as concrete formwork and reinforcement. In: Gramazio F, Kohler M, Langenberg S (eds) Fabricate: Negotiating Design & Making. Gta-Verl, Zurich, pp 224–231

    Google Scholar 

  12. Halterman J (2015) The 3D Printed Solar Bytes Pavilion Records the Day and Plays It Back at Night. https://3dprint.com/36730/solar-bytes-pavilion/. Accessed 20 June 2016

  13. Hyperbody (2016) Ex25 D2RP—Performative Hybridity. http://ex25.hyperbody.nl/index.php/Msc3workshop:ex25d2rp. Accessed 29 July 2016

  14. Karagianni L (2015) Additive manufacturing by daylight: towards a customized shading device [designyourshutters.com]. Master thesis, TU Delft Faculty of Architecture

    Google Scholar 

  15. Karagianni L, Turrin M, Knaak U, Hordijk T (2016) Additive manufacturing by daylight: towards a customized shading device [designyourshutters.com]. In: Ramtin A, Chronis A, Hanna S, Turrin M (eds) Proceedings Simaud 2016. UK, London, pp 69–76

    Google Scholar 

  16. Maggioni L (2015) Il solar byte pavilion segue il sole verso il futuro dell’architettura. https://replicatore.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/il-solar-byte-pavilion-segue-il-sole-verso-il-futuro-dellarchitettura/. Accessed 20 June 2016

  17. Ming K, Tam M, Coleman JR, Fine N, Mueller CT (2016) Robotics-Enabled stress line additive manufacturing. In: Reinhardt D, Saunders P, Burry J (eds) Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design 2016. Springer International Publishing, pp 351–361

    Google Scholar 

  18. Peters B (2016) Solar bytes pavilion—3D printed interlocking modules. In: Reinhardt D, Saunders R, Burry J (eds) Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design 2016. Springer International Publishing, pp 327–337

    Google Scholar 

  19. Reinhardt D, Cabrera D, Niemelä M, Ulacco G, Jung A (2014) TriVoc—Robotic manufacturing for affecting sound through complex curved geometries. In: Mcgee W, Ponce de Leon M (eds) Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design 2014. Springer, New York, pp 163–179

    Google Scholar 

  20. Setaki F (2016) Acustic by additive manufacturing. http://www.slideshare.net/Merford/foteini-setaki-acoustics-by-additive-manufacturing Accessed 12 May 2016

  21. Setaki F, Turrin M, Tenpierik M, Van Timmeren A (2014) Acoustic absorbers by additive manufacturing. J Buil Environ 72:188–200

    Google Scholar 

  22. Setaki F (2016) Acoustic by additive manufacturing. Master thesis, TU Delft Faculty of Architecture

    Google Scholar 

  23. Vasey L (2016) Acoustic brick. http://www.laurenvasey.com/#!gramaziokohleracousticbrick/cjhs. Accessed 22 July 2016

  24. Vamhof M, Vasey L, Bräuer, S, Eggenschwiler, K, Strauss, J, Gramazio, F, Kohler, M (2014) Robotic Fabrication of Acoustic Brick Walls. In: Gerber D (ed) Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA). Roundhouse Publishing Group, Los Angeles, pp 555–564

    Google Scholar 

  25. Wang L (2015) 3D-printed Solar Bytes Pavilion pushes the boundaries of architectural innovation. http://inhabitat.com/3d-printed-solar-bytes-pavilion-pushes-the-boundaries-of-architecturalinnovation/new-post-submission-icon-1039/. Accessed 20 June 2016

  26. Weissenböck R (2014) Exploring the combination of laser cutting and robotic thermoforming as a technique for architectural envelopes. In: Mcgee W, Ponce de Leon M (eds) Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design 2014. Springer, New York, pp 249–259

    Google Scholar 

  27. Yuan P, Meng H, Devadass P (2014) Performative tectonics—robotic fabrication methodology towards complexity. In: Mcgee W, Ponce de Leon M (eds) Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design 2014. Springer, New York, pp 181–195

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Planning, D&T of Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Angelo Figliola & Alessandra Battisti

Authors
  1. Angelo Figliola
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alessandra Battisti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angelo Figliola .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Figliola, A., Battisti, A. (2021). Informed Architecture and Plastic Materials. Overview of the Main European Research Paths. In: Post-industrial Robotics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5278-6_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5278-6_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-5277-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-5278-6

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation