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Irregularly shaped buildings with double curved surfaces, also known as free forms or Blobs, have regained interest from architects. Those actually built however, despite their futuristic look, have load-bearing structures which are still based on conventional principles, as building systems suitable for these new shapes do not exist. The present r...
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... By some designers and scholars, irregular geometries are called 'freeform' and are not entirely irregular or shaped without any pattern. However, a shape of various forms becomes a spline curve (Veltkam, 2007). Moreover, Veltkam has explained that freeform can be developed by transforming primitive geometries. ...
The 21st century is a modern era with the human egoism of world greed that results in the imbalance of the earth and the release of carbon gases on ozone that are very worrying. The 'Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDG) by United Nation makes using sustainable materials such as bamboo for building construction. However, negative perception has made it a material that is not widely used. This study explores and observes the design transformations of bamboo building construction. As a result, the evolution of building shapes and building shapes has become more dynamic and unique. Keywords: Sustainable, Material, Bamboo, Building eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2023. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v8i23.4512
... The roof system of these structures is based on the truss performance and the transmission of forces through elements that do not bear bending moments. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] This structural system, through creating high indeterminacy degrees and redistribution of forces, can support asymmetric loads. 14 Because space frame roofs are lightweight, the seismic performance of structures made with such roofs is good, and they will have good safety for use in public structures. ...
The renovation of existing structures and increasing their service life, instead of demolishing them and constructing new structures, in addition to reducing costs significantly by reducing construction waste and reducing the need for new renovation materials, will help the environment. The Enghelab International Pool is the largest pool in the south of Iran, which was built in 1993 in Shiraz. The roof of the structure is of space frame type according to the Sahand system, and has corroded severely over time. According to the suggestions of specialized teams, it was decided to repair and strengthen the structure by the patch welding method. The de-rusting, strengthening and painting operations on the structural components were performed step by step, and finally, by conducting on-site testing, the behavior of the repaired structure was investigated. The experimental results include deformation of the specified nodes under elastic loading, which have good agreement with the numerical results, and the structure has shown good behavior after about three decades of its life.
... The complexity of the design and construction process of freeform buildings and structures means that they can be analyzed as a separate research area [1][2][3]. In the modern world, this type of structure can be called a new architectural trend [4]. ...
This article is a survey discussing the application of fiber-reinforced polymer composites in freeform structures and their impact on the design and shape generation process. The analysis of case studies showed that the use of FRP composites not only helps to overcome some challenges in the construction of objects with complex geometry, but also creates brand new types of structures and design approaches. On the other hand, there is a problem—although FRP materials are frequently used in construction, the shapes of structures and design methods are often traditional and are simply copied from materials such as wood, concrete, and steel. FRP composites have been applied in civil engineering for several decades, since the 1960s, as building envelopes, façade skins, load-bearing structures, and internal and external reinforcement. The article aims to analyze this accumulated experience and to explore the role of FRP materials in the design of buildings with free, complex, fluid, and organic shapes. A new classification of freeform composite structures is proposed. They are classified in this article according to the methodology applied at the conceptual design stage: structures created by using a geometric approach, a form-finding (equilibrium) approach, or a biomimetic approach. Each approach is described in its own separate section, with a thorough literature and state-of-the-art review.
... In this framework, fabricating a glulam blank and machining it into its final form is a three-step process that involves a consolidation process, a deformation process, and a mass-change process. A similar categorization is presented by Veltkamp (2007), by which a glulam component would be a combination of additive, formative, and subtractive processes. The sum of these three processes is itself defined as an integrated process, one in which the final component is "the product of this sequence and is the sum of the single manufacturing units" which means that "the quality and the properties of the piece may be quantified by adding and subtracting the contributions of each unit process" (Caneparo and Cerrato 2014). ...
Integrated material practice in free-form timber structures is a practice-led research project at CITA (Centre for IT and Architecture) that develops a digitally-augmented material practice around glue-laminated timber. The project is part of the InnoChain ETN and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 642877. The advent of digital tools and computation has shifted the focus of many material practices from the shaping of material to the shaping of information. The ability to process large amounts of data quickly has made computation commonplace in the design and manufacture of buildings, especially in iterative digital design workflows. The simulation of material performance and the shift from models as representational tools to functional ones has opened up new methods of working between digital model and physical material. Wood has gained a new relevance in contemporary construction because it is sustainable, renewable, and stores carbon. In light of the climate crisis and concerns about overpopulation, and coupled with developments in adhesives and process technology, it is returning to the forefront of construction. However, as a grown and heterogeneous material, its properties and behaviours nevertheless present barriers to its utilization in architecturally demanding areas. Similarly, the integration of the properties, material behaviours, and production constraints of glue-laminated timber (glulam) assemblies into early-stage architectural design workflows remains a challenging specialist and inter-disciplinary affair. Drawing on a partnership with Dsearch – the digital research network at White Arkitekter in Sweden – and Blumer Lehmann AG – a leading Swiss timber contractor – this research examines the design and fabrication of glue-laminated timber structures and seeks a means to link industrial timber fabrication with early-stage architectural design through the application of computational modelling, design, and an interrogation of established timber production processes. A particular focus is placed on large-scale free-form glulam structures due to their high performance demands and the challenge of exploiting the bending properties of timber. By proposing a computationally-augmented material practice in which design intent is informed by material and fabrication constraints, the research aims to discover new potentials in timber architecture. The central figure in the research is the glulam blank - the glue-laminated near-net shape of large-scale timber components. The design space that the blank occupies - between sawn, graded lumber and the finished architectural component - holds the potential to yield new types of timber components and new structural morphologies. Engaging with this space therefore requires new interfaces for design modelling and production that take into account the affordances of timber and timber processing. The contribution of this research is a framework for a material practice that integrates processes of computational modelling, architectural design, and timber fabrication and acts as a broker between domains of architectural design and industrial timber production. The research identifies four different notions of feedback that allow this material practice to form.
... This is to reach the nodal diaphragms of the bamboo longitudinally before the care of natural preservation is taken 4. In the bamboo treatment tub, bamboo soaks in borax and boric acid solution for 7 days to allow the salts to completely permeate the inside of the bamboo [14]. 5. Borax or sodium borate is a smooth, colourless powder mineral that dissolves easily in water. ...
Bamboo is a natural resource for construction that can be found in tropical to mild temperate regions. Bamboo as a construction material is very reliable due to its high strength to weight ratio, high tension and compression. A number of innovative construction techniques have been practiced by architects internationally to bring out the potential of this material in sustainable development. The design possibilities of this to form various space frame structures, distinguished facades or as structural elements is being explored to have a genuine grasp at the flexibility of the material. Bamboo has many environmental benefits which have made it an essential material for sustainable development. The study envisages to understand and explore the various possibilities of using bamboo as a construction material to achieve new innovations in architectural design.
... This creates another taxonomy of 'industrial wood fibre'. This combination of reduction and aggregation-or subtractive and additive manufacturing processes (Veltkamp 2007)-also suggests that this process could become iterative, through cycles of machining and lamination. The treatment and surface finishing of wood presents yet another additional field of parameters. ...
This chapter describes a research thread at CITA which explores how computation and a challenging of traditional material practice can impact the use of timber in architectural design and fabrication. Several past research projects at CITA have demonstrated the potential for streamlining the design-to-production process using computational tools, and the value of working in concert with the inherent properties of wood. Current research continues this thread through a participation in the Innochain research network (http://innochain.net/) and collaboration with industrial partners White Arkitekter AB and Blumer-Lehmann AG. Through the embedding of digital tools within established timber design a fabrication processes, new workflows are proposed which could lead to more intelligent design decisions, optimized building components, and new timber morphologies.
... This brings architectural design to the position of dealing with multiple and more complex sets of parameters, on which space adaptability must rely. Furthermore, for establishing a sustainable, material efficient and form-free construction approach, building construction needs to experience further advances towards automation and the design disciplines involved, to establish vital interdisciplinary processes of design, development and production, Veltkamp (2007). ...
Bending-active structures, originally inspired from natural systems, have validated
their capabilities in achieving adaptive forms through implemented examples and research
activities by the engineering community. Composed out of lightweight thin planar materials of
low bending stiffness, bending-active members are characterised with reversible deformational
behavior, minimizing the risk of high energy consumption in their transformation. In this
framework, the paper seeks to investigate hybrid structures of bending- with tension-active
members, aiming at revealing their structural deformational behavior in relation to both, residual
stresses and bending stiffness values. Shrinkage of the cables length is responsible for the
achievement of different configuration states of the structure, as well as the kinematics of the
systems. The multi-step Finite Element Analysis conducted provides at the same time an insight
into the form-finding process and force distribution mechanism by the structural members.
... Irregular geometries or by some designer and scholar are called as freeform is not completely irregular or shape without any pattern, but a shape that can be composed by various forms became a spline curve (Veltkam, 2007). Moreover, Veltkam explain that freeform can be developed by transform the primitive geometries. ...
Bamboo has been widely known as a sustainable building material due to some reasons among others are bamboo can be easily cultivated and harvested in a relative short time and can be reused. Bamboo as building materials is easy to bend and lithe. Those characters are very suitable for organic shaped building construction. This paper attempts to discuss how bamboo is being used in organic shaped building. Several case studies are taken to describe the relation between shape, structure, construction and joint system. It will classify how bamboo is formed in curved thus result is an organic form. The paper result will show that bamboo can be a potential building material for organic shaped buildings and become an alternative building material other than steel and concrete.
... Consequently the members of the structure must be twisted in case the sections are attached perpendicular to the curved surface. An interesting example of a spatial frame composed of twisted members was designed for the DO-Bubble (Veltkamp [3]). Envelopes of blobs can be designed by transforming a regular form. ...
p. 977-988 For free-forms the structural grid affects the design of the envelope as well as the design of the structure. Due to the complex geometry of the surface the directions of the normal lines will vary. The diversity of the directions of the normal lines affects the design of the envelope and structure, especially in case the surface is connected directly, without secondary structure, to the members of the structural frame and the structural members have to be curved and twisted. Comparing several structural grids shows the effect of the grid for the directions of the normal lines and the design of the structural elements.
Industry 4.0 has pushed construction to adopt processes that optimize the manufacturing of customizable solutions. Prefabrication, is beginning to understand that 3D Printing (3DP) with cementitious materials may open a new and wide range of options both formal and chromatic in customization, avoiding complex formworks, reducing costs and manufacturing time. Certified products are demanded, but it is obvious that there is a growing desire for tailor-made façade solutions, especially in its plasticity. Façades with designs, colors, and textures may thus overcome the execution constraints, narrowing the manufacturing process to the architectural conception and design process. In 3D printing, design process and its fabrication are engaged, enabling a great formal freedom and precision in the information transfer from drawing to its construction. The creative process is directly linked to the constructive process, bringing design closer to its materialization. Matter responds to form and form is designed by the matter capacity. This technology thus seems to be the ideal solution for the audacious design forms yet optimizing the constructive process.
