Christoph Gengnagel

Berlin University of the Arts | UdK · Structural Design and Engineering

Deckensysteme sind aufgrund ihres Volumens und ihrer Materialität – neben der Gründung – zentrale Schlüsselkomponenten für nachhaltiges Bauen. Innovationen in diesem Bereich können den Ressourcenverbrauch und die Treibhausgasemissionen erheblich reduzieren, während gleichzeitig die regionale Vielfalt im Bauwesen gestärkt wird. Der vorgestellte Fors...

While robotics and additive manufacturing offer promise for revolutionizing construction, their integration into mainstream practices remains limited. This research emphasizes the critical role of digital transformation in the construction sector, particularly in democratizing technological advancements. It focuses on developing a user-friendly API...

Purpose This study addresses the critical role of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) visualisations in the building industry, focusing on the development and evaluation of an innovative 3D dashboard approach in Microsoft Power BI for enhanced LCA visualisations in building projects. It emphasises the need for effective communication of LCA results among s...

Ceilings are key to more sustainable and climate-friendly construction. Slab systems comprise the most embodied carbon in proportion to all component groups. The shortage of materials after World War II brought a brief renaissance for vaulted masonry ceiling systems. The simplicity and effectiveness of the purely compression-loaded caps enabled rap...

The introduction of robotic construction methods in the building industry holds great promise to increase the stagnating productivity of the construction industry and reduce its current carbon footprint, in considerable part caused by waste and error in construction. A promising aspect is the implementation of integrated CAD/CAM processes where the...

In einem aktuellen Forschungsprojekt werden kaltgegossene, lösbare Verbindungsknoten aus CFK-bewehrtem Polymerbeton erforscht. Die Gussknoten werden direkt an die zu verbindenden Holzbauteile betoniert und lassen sich über eine Verzahnung problemlos ineinanderstecken und wieder demontieren. Anhand eines Forschungspavillons wird die Leistungsfähigke...

Für die Erstellung von Ökobilanzen im Hinblick auf das Global Warming Potential (CO2-Emissionen) stehen Architekten und Ingenieuren verschiedene Möglichkeiten zur Auswahl. Die einfachste Methode ist die Verknüpfung der Massen der Bauteile mit ihren spezifischen Kohlenstofffaktoren aus der Herstellung. Zur Flexibilisierung des Entwurfsprozesses, der...

Neue Herausforderungen erfordern neue Lösungen. Das von Bollinger+Grohmann entwickelte Structural Web Tool bietet eine Möglichkeit, Ökobilanzen in die frühen Entwurfsphasen von Planungsprozessen einzubinden, unterschiedliche Tragwerkskonzepte vergleichend zu prüfen und damit einen entscheidenden Beitrag zur Reduktion von CO2 Emissionen und Schonung...

de Deckensysteme sind aufgrund ihres Materialvolumens eine der größten Herausforderungen im Geschossbau auf dem Weg zu klimaschonendem Bauen. Hier erweist sich die traditionelle gemauerte Kappendecke als robuste leistungsfähige Alternative mit Innovationspotenzial. Im Vergleich zu weitverbreiteten Stahlbetonflachdecken erfordert ihre Herstellung nu...

Proceedings of the Design Modelling Symposium Berlin 2022, Towards Radical Regeneration

Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a paradigm in Machine Learning (ML), along with Supervised Learning and Unsupervised Learning, that aims to create Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents that can take decisions in complex and uncertain environments, with the goal of maximizing their long-term benefit. Although it has not gained as much research interest...

Efforts toward the circular economy necessitate new approaches for the construction industry. Repair and repurposing of structures through easily disassembled connections facilitate maintenance, preservation and concept changes. Decreasing availability of resources requires the efficient, material-conserving use of the materials employed.The decisi...

This work explores the potential of networked, composable tools as a means to capture and distribute organisational knowledge. To solve a design problem, teams will draw from a collective body of formalised, implicit, and tacit knowledge and synthesise it into a proposal. We argue that tooling can play a part in meeting new challenges for the disci...

Decades of rapid and widespread digitization of our living and working environments have not yet brought about a comprehensive qualitative improvement of our built environment in terms of sustainability and functional and aesthetic performance. The designs of the future must be much more consistently concerned with optimizing the multimodal perform...

Das Gesamtprojekt kann als ein richtungsweisendes Beispiel für ein ressourcenschonendes Bauen im Bestand angesehen werden. So wurden durch die weitgehende Nutzung der Bestandsstruktur ein CO 2 ‐Äquivalent von fast 8500 t gegenüber einem vergleichbaren Neubauvolumen eingespart und knappe Materialressourcen wie Kiese und Sande geschont. Gleichzeitig...

Digitale Lebenszyklusanlysen sind ein wichtiges Werkzeug, um bereits in frühen Entwurfsphasen die Ökobilanz von Projekten zu optimieren. Bollinger+Grohmann haben damit bereits erste Erfahrungen gesammelt und geben einen Einblick in den Stand der Technik sowie dessen Entwicklungspotenziale.

Polymerbeton gleicht in seiner Zusammensetzung herkömmlichem Zementbeton. Jedoch wird der üblicherweise als Bindemittel verwendete Zementleim durch ein polymeres Reaktionsharz substituiert. Verglichen mit Zementbeton zeichnet sich Polymerbeton durch seine hohen Festigkeiten, eine gute chemische Beständigkeit sowie durch seine kurze Erhärtungszeit a...

This paper explores a generative design, simulation, and optimization workflow for the integration of acoustical diffuser and/or absorber geometry with embedded coupled Helmholtz-resonators for full scale 3D printed building components. Large-scale additive manufacturing in conjunction with algorithmic CAD design tools enables a vast amount of cont...

This paper explores a generative design, simulation, and optimization workflow for full-scale 3D printed building components using an array of different mixtures. Large-scale additive manufacturing in conjunction with algorithmic CAD design tools enables a vast amount of control when creating geometry. This can also be advantageous regarding the in...

This paper explores a generative design, simulation, and optimization workflow for full-scale 3D printed building components using an array of different mixtures. Large-scale additive manufacturing in conjunction with algorithmic CAD design tools enables a vast amount of control when creating geometry. This can also be advantageous regarding the in...

The PyroForCE research project investigated the extent to which the fire behaviour of façade timbers can be changed by the creation of a surface pyrolysis layer alone in such a way that the requirements for classification as a flame-retardant building material are permanently fulfilled. For this purpose, a continuously operating wood pyrolysis syst...

This paper investigates a performative design approach for the fabrication of three-dimensional concrete printed (3DCP) floor slab systems on a one-to-one scale. 3DCP holds the potential to relinquish the necessity of additional formwork or support structure during the fabrication process and this paper proposes a specific strategy and methodology...

This paper explores intuitive human-machine-interfaces, utilizing Arduino (open-source electronic prototyping platform) for real-time responsive architecture applications on a one-to-one scale. First, a modular building kit has been developed of 12 identical modules that can be freely arranged, divided into smaller arrays, or be used individually....

This paper presents an approach for implementing life-cycle assessment (LCA) in the early design stages of a building project based on the new plugins for Rhino and Grasshopper of One Click LCA, which aims to contribute to fight climate change from within the construction industry. These new tools developed by Bollinger + Grohmann in collaboration...

Background / Scope Wood has been used as a sustainable material for facade cladding for centuries. The classification as ‘normally flammable building material’, according to German building code, only allows the use of wood as facade material for buildings up to and including building class three of the code. With surface pyrolysis, a method is sh...

Many of the sensory experiences of space, which were rather assigned to the realm of the visual, originate in other modes of perception and are integrated into the human understanding of its surroundings. Computer Aided Architectural Design tools meanwhile focus on a design work only under visual terms. With the help of Virtual Reality, among other...

Due to developments and progress in the realms of digital design processes and automated manufacturing techniques, the complexity of structures has been increasing. The ability to easily generate variants and integrate optimisation processes is an important aspect of such complex systems, particularly in the early project stages. For the purpose of...

This book reflects and expands on the current trend in the building industry to understand, simulate and ultimately design buildings by taking into consideration the interlinked elements and forces that act on them. Shifting away from the traditional focus, which was exclusively on building tasks, this approach presents new challenges in all areas...

Many of the sensory experiences of space, which were rather assigned to the realm of the visual , originate in other modes of perception and are integrated into the human understanding of its surroundings. Computer Aided Architectural Design tools meanwhile focus on a design work only under visual terms. With the help of Virtual Reality, among othe...

Entscheidend für die Tragfähigkeit, Wirtschaftlichkeit und die Gestaltung von schlanken Konstruktionen aus Holz‐ oder Faserverbundkunststoffen (FVK) sind i. d. R. die Verbindungen. In diesem Beitrag wird ein neuartiges Verbindungskonzept für Stabwerkskonstruktionen aus Holz‐ oder FVK vorgestellt. Eine wichtige Eigenschaft dabei ist eine reversible...

Polymerbeton stellt, analog zum klassischen zementgebundenen Beton, ein heterogenes Gemisch aus Zuschlag und Bindemittel dar. Eine Substitution des Zements durch Epoxidharz hat tiefgreifende Auswirkungen auf die mechanischen und chemischen Eigenschaften sowie auf Herstellungsprozesse. Aufgrund seiner hohen Druck‐ und Zugfestigkeit, guten chemischen...

The Steglitzer Kreisel is an office building complex located in Berlin which has undergone a refurbishment project. The main element of this complex is a 30-story high-rise building that stands 120 meters above the ground and is currently the third tallest building in Berlin. The transfer floor consists of 4.8-meter-high built-up steel beams, which...

In this paper we present a computerized design method which could ultimately serve to greatly simplify the production of free form reinforced concrete components. Using any desired doubly-curved shape as a starting point, we developed a digital workflow in which the spatial information of the shape is processed in such a way that it can be represen...

Active-bending was established as a new Study Group within the IASS Working Group 15, "Structural Morphology Group" (SMG) in 2012 at the IASS conference in Seoul. Starting point was the publishing of a review paper [1] to establish common terminologies and references. In this paper many important historical examples of active-bending were gathered,...

Emerging directly from a masterclass held by the authors at IASS 2017, this paper presents a quantitative and qualitative benchmark comparison between three distinct software environments, namely SOFiSTiK, Kangaroo and Kiwi3d, framed specifically within the context of designing and simulating bending-active structures. The three environments differ...

This paper presents Virtual Reality Structures (StructVR), an immersive virtual environment designed to engage, educate and entertain users via virtual physical interaction with digital structural systems which display immediate visual feedback on structural deformations, internal forces and reactions. Interaction with pre-set demos as well as a cr...

The paper presents the idea that multiple layers of auxetic structures can be combined to achieve synergetic effects relating to aesthetic and/or structural performance. We describe a novel approach of using auxetic structures to produce a wide range of doubly-curved target shapes with full control over the porosity, shape and distribution of the r...

Digital design methods impact architectural structures. To contribute new impulses to Computational Design, we are focusing on a central obstacle in current digital design for architects and structural engineers , namely the suboptimal transformation of embodied three-dimensional imagination and knowledge of the designer into the digital work envir...

Polymer concretes employ a polymeric binder to replace typical lime-based cements. Thanks to their high compressive and tensile strength, chemical resistance and fast curing time, their application vastly ranges from repair to precast components and structural elements for aggressive environments. In the current paper, ongoing research on the mecha...

Form-finding processes are an integral part of structural design. Because of their limitations, the classic approaches to finding a form – such as hanging models and the soap-film analogy – play only a minor role. The various possibilities of digital experimentation in the context of structural optimisation create new options for the designer gener...

The contribution illustrating some of the actual structural engineering challenges encountered in the planning and construction process of the new Merck Innovation Center in Darmstadt, Germany. The project features large areas of exposed concrete, including free-form curved concrete stairs, as well as a large span two-way composite floor system. Th...

The contribution focuses on some of the structural engineering challenges encountered in the planning and construction process of the new Merck Innovation Center in Darmstadt, Germany. The project features large areas of exposed concrete, including free-form curved concrete stairs, as well as a large span two-way composite floor system. The focus i...

This paper presents a prototypical tool structural systems such as portal frames) which are visually augmented by means of projected images of a synchronous simulation of the same system. The visual augmentation provides the user with immediate insight into the systems' structural performance by displaying internal forces (bending moments, axial fo...

The current paper discusses the role of multi-scale modelling within the context of design and structural analysis. Depending on the level of detail, a design model may retain, lose or enhance key information. The term multi-scale refers to the breakdown of a design and analysis task into multiple levels of detail and the transfer of this informati...

Polymer concretes employ a polymeric binder to replace typical lime-based cements. Due to their high compressive and tensile strength, chemical resistance and fast curing time, their application vastly ranges from repair to precast components and structural elements for aggressive environments. In the current paper, ongoing research on the mechanic...

This book aims at finding some answers to the questions: What is the influence of humans in controlling CAD and how much is human in control of its surroundings? How far does our reach as humans really go? Do the complex algorithms that we use for city planning nowadays live up to their expectations and do they offer enough quality? How much data d...

This paper will discuss the role of simulation in extended architectural design modelling. As a framing paper, the aim is to present and discuss the role of integrated design simulation and feedback between design and simulation in a series of projects under the Complex Modelling framework. Complex Modelling examining how methods from the parallel...

Knitted fabrics have unique characteristics compared to conventional architectural membranes. Conventional architectural membranes are composite materials consisting of woven or non-woven textiles and layers of coating. Characteristics of membrane behaviour are a high tensile strength, no bending resistance and a certain shear stiffness. Their resi...

The scientists and academics in the transdisciplinary project called “Rethinking Prototyping” have not only been working on concrete hybrid prototyping approaches in their research, but also on a joint understanding and a general concept of prototyping as well. A differentiated analysis of the terms used in contexts connected with prototyping led t...

This paper presents an enquiry into how to inform material systems that allow for a high degree of variation and gradation of their material composition. Presenting knit as a particular system of material fabrication, we discuss how new practices that integrate material design into the architectural design chain presents new opportunities and chall...

Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to revolutionize the representation of digital design models. The highly immersive exploration of design variations in VR is a particularly powerful tool to improve decision-making processes, especially when architecture deviates from ordinary forms. This is the case in stadia design where geometric interdepen...

Generative design processes are characterized by modifications of a design model's parameters with the aim of improving its quality. The entirety of possible parameter combinations in a given design scenario is referred to as parameter space, in which each parameter represents a dimension. The efficacy of a design process could be measured by the q...

Membrane architecture uses currently off the shelf materials and produces the shapes and details through cutting and laborsome joining of textile patterns. This paper discusses investigations into an alternative material practice - knit - which engages bespoke membrane materials. A practice which allows for customised and graded material properties...

The central research question of this work asks “can pneumatic falsework be used to erect strained grid shells?” In order to begin to answer this question, a bespoke simulation method was developed in the Rhinoceros 3D / Grasshopper software environment making use of the Kangaroo2 Dynamic Relaxation solver alongside substantial customisations using...

Form-active hybrid structures (FAHS) couple two or more different structural elements of low self weight and low or negligible bending flexural stiffness (such as slender beams, cables and membranes) into one structural assembly of high global stiffness. They offer high load-bearing capacity at a fraction of the weight of traditional building eleme...

As part of a joint research project between the Centre for Information Technology and Architecture (CITA) and te Department for Structural Design and Technology (KET), a one week student workshop was organised at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (KADK) in Copenhagen. This paper outlines the teaching methods applied to reach maximum insight fro...

The minimization of deflections is usually a fundamental goal in structural of elastic bending as a forming process (“active bending”) depends on the definition and control of very large deflections. Making use of elastic bending to form beam or surface elements is a well established construction method within vernacular architecture. The key motiv...

Many social problems can only be solved taking into account different perspectives. Hence inter- and transdiciplinary cooperation is becoming increasingly more important. Designing these cooperations is a challenge for everyone involved, but the cooperations hold valuable potentials for prospective thinking. The article illustrates the challenge us...

In this book, the authors describe the findings derived from interaction and cooperation between scientific actors employing diverse practices. They reflect on distinct prototyping concepts and examine the transformation of development culture in their fusion to hybrid approaches and solutions. The products of tomorrow are going to be multifunctio...

The practical benefits of strained (a.k.a. ‘elastic’) grid shells, such as low material usage and fabrication simplicity, are undermined by the methods typically used for their erection. Established erection methods for strained grid shells (‘lift up’, ‘push up’ & ‘ease down’) can be time-consuming, costly and can overstress the system locally 1,2....

Recent advances in computation allow for the integration of design and simulation of highly interrelated systems, such as hybrids of structural membranes and bending active elements. The engaged complexities of forces and logistics can be mediated through the development of materials with project specific properties and detailing. CNC knitting with...

This book reflects and expands on the current trend in the building industry to understand, simulate and ultimately design buildings by taking into consideration the interlinked elements and forces that act on them. This approach overcomes the traditional, exclusive focus on building tasks, while posing new challenges in all areas of the industry f...

The practical benefits of strained (a.k.a. ‘elastic’) grid shells, such as low material usage and fabrication simplicity, are undermined by the methods typically used for their erection. Established erection methods for strained grid shells (‘lift up’, ‘push up’ & ‘ease down’) can be time-consuming, costly and can overstress the system locally (Har...