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Cap Ceilings Revisited: A Fabrication Future for a Material-Efficient Historic Ceiling System
Abstract
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 rapid reconstruction with the available material and rubble. These characteristics require the system to be re-examined in light of today’s debates on resource scarcity and circularity. The research presents a LCA-Analysis, comparing six different ceiling systems under a uniform usage scenario. While a conventional concrete flat slab has a GWP of 136 kgCO2e/m2, the vaulted slab achieves a value of 64 kgCO2e/m2, representing a savings potential of 53%. Under the same conditions, masonry caps offer an operational solution that embodies less than half as much carbon as a conventional concrete ceiling. In addition, clear circularity properties can be demonstrated for the masonry cap ceilings. Circular economy principles are applied at both material and construction levels. The geometric precondition of cap ceilings with repetitive construction sequences lends itself to digital fabrication methods. This process enables further development of the historic form through multifunctional optimization. Hence, a 3D-printed acoustic brick was developed which enables the raw ceiling to meet a broad range of requirements. Our digital fabrication experiments show a unique combination in the joining of newly generated performative bricks and recycled material.
... Following Tebbe [4], the cap ceiling can be fabricated, as in the case of the barrel vault [5], with masonry layers rotated 0°, 45° (also called the dovetail bond [5]), and 90° to the longitudinal vault axis. As researched by Aziz et al. [6], the fabrication of the historical masonry cap ceiling offers the possibility to reduce embodied carbon by 50% to comparable slab ceilings made of reinforced concrete. A contemporary reinterpretation of the cap ceiling, wherein the prefabricated cap is composed of rammed earth and spans between two timber beams, was recently proposed by Herzog & de Meuron [7]. Figure 1: The historical cap ceiling. ...
... optional: rotation of target frames (2) collision free ik-solutions ik-solutions collision free trajectory dicretization into target frames check compatibility of ik-solutions inverse kinematics collision checking (1) (3) (4) (5) print path as points robot configuration support rails printed geometry target frames matrix of possible followers print path find trajectory (6) rotationally equivalent axis ...
Traditional cap ceilings, self-supporting vaulted structures once prevalent in historical masonry construction, are experiencing renewed interest due to their potential for material efficiency and reduced waste. This resurgence comes amidst a pressing need to reduce material consumption in construction. However, the contemporary fabrication of such vaulted structures presents practical challenges. Leveraging advancements in 3D printing, this research seeks to revive cap ceilings by integrating historical techniques with computational structural design and extrusion-based additive manufacturing. Our approach aims to develop a fabrication-aware method for designing formwork-free, self-supporting cap ceiling structures suitable for in situ 3D printing using earthen materials. Using graphic statics, we propose an iterative method for simultaneously form-finding and analyzing the cap ceiling on a global (entire structure) and local (during fabrication) scale. Based on the generated print path, a method for robotic motion planning for cylindrically equivalent target objectives is developed. Physical prototypes using a mobile robot for earth extrusion are fabricated to validate and assess the feasibility of the proposed design and fabrication approach. This interdisciplinary investigation aims to bridge the gap between historical craft and contemporary design and fabrication methods, offering sustainable approaches for future construction practices.
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 Forschungsansatz zielt nicht nur auf Materialeinsparungen ab, sondern strebt mithilfe digitaler Technologien eine umfassende Optimierung an. Dabei dienen historische Bausysteme mit bewährten zirkulären Eigenschaften als Grundlage für die Entwicklung. Im Rahmen des Projekts Minimal Mineral werden digitale Fertigungsmethoden erforscht, um einen Katalog innovativer, multimodaler Deckensysteme zu entwickeln. Die konsequente Anwendung computergestützter Entwurfs‐ und Analysewerkzeuge sowie digitaler Fertigungsverfahren wie 3D‐Druck und Robotik ermöglichen neue ressourcenschonende Bauweisen und den Einsatz nachhaltigerer Materialien. Der resultierende Bauteilkatalog basiert auf erprobten historischen Bauweisen und sichert so eine schnelle mögliche praktische Anwendung. Der Fokus des Berichts liegt auf Voruntersuchungen für eine prototypische Anwendung für ein aktuelles Bauvorhaben in Nordfrankreich, das sich derzeit in der Planungsphase befindet. Das geplante neuartige Deckensystem besteht aus vorgefertigten mineralischen Schalungskörpern mit integrierten Schallabsorptionsfunktionen.
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 performance of human spaces. This paper presents a design approach to implement and combine life-cycle assessment with different simulation methods such as energy efficiency, daylight analysis, acoustics, noise insulation, structural analysis and fire protection in order to provide the designer with tools to evaluate how architectural decisions affect the building performance and its environmental impacts. This approach was applied by the architecture students of a master course at the Universität der Künste Berlin. They were given the program of a building to be constructed in the Siemensstadt in Berlin and they implemented this methodology to come up with different sustainable designs. This paper also discusses the results of this course and empathizes how the implementation of simulation tools does not constrain the possibilities of the design process, but it enriches it and leads to a more sustainable built environment.
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimates that by 2050 the world’s population will have increased by over 2.1bn people. Providing housing and infrastructure for these people would essentially require building an amount equivalent to what currently exists.
It is simply not possible to build in the future the way we do today if we want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, slow the depletion of natural resources and minimise waste production. These challenges can only be addressed if engineers and architects actively include them at the source of their designs.
Through full-scale, built research demonstrators by the Block Research Group at ETH Zurich, this paper presents strategies, based on advances in computational structural design and digital fabrication, to take on these challenges, offering opportunities for a necessary disruptive change. It furthermore calls for a rethinking of how we collaborate, teach engineering and develop building codes to allow for greater flexibility and innovation.
To reduce embodied carbon in buildings, two strategies are available. First, material efficiency is improved. Second, the materials are chosen for their low carbon content. The operational carbon of buildings has lowered recently, but for immediate emissions savings innovations in embodied carbon are needed. This research demonstrates that most material mass lies in roofs and floor slabs, rather than in walls and columns. Therefore, the first strategy to reduce impacts would be to lower their material quantities in floor and roof design. For the second strategy, alternative materials are studied. Vaulted masonry structures combine both strategies: vaults span spaces efficiently and masonry has a lower embodied impact than steel and concrete. Results demonstrate that a combination of both strategies effectively lowers the embodied carbon of buildings: typical floor and roof structures range around 440 kgCO2e/m2 whereas vaulted tile masonry can be as low as 60 kgCO2e/m2.
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 control when creating geometry. This is advantageous regarding the increasing demands of comfort standards for indoor spaces and the use of more resourceful and sustainable construction methods and materials. The presented methodology highlights these new technological advancements and offers a multimodal and integrative design solution with the potential for an immediate application in the AEC-Industry. In principle, the methodology can be applied to a wide range of structural elements that can be manufactured by additive manufacturing processes. The current paper focuses on a case study of an application for a biaxial load-bearing beam grillage made of reinforced concrete, which allows for a variety of applications through the combination of additive prefabricated semi-finished parts and in-situ concrete supplementation. The semi-prefabricated parts or formwork bodies form the basic framework of the supporting structure and at the same time have acoustic absorption and diffusion properties that are precisely acoustically programmed for the space underneath the structure. To this end, a hybrid validation strategy is being explored using a digital and cross-platform simulation environment, verified with physical prototyping. The iterative workflow starts with the generation of a parametric design model for the acoustical geometry using the algorithmic visual scripting editor grasshopper3D [1] inside the Building Information Modeling (BIM) software Revit [2]. Various geometric attributes (i.e., bottleneck and cavity dimensions) of the resonator are parameterized and fed to a numerical optimization algorithm which can modify the geometry with the goal of increasing absorption at resonance and increasing the bandwidth of the effective absorption range. Using Rhino.Inside [3] and LiveLink for Revit the generative model was imported directly into the Multiphysics simulation environment COMSOL [4]. The geometry was further modified and prepared for simulation in a semi-automated process. The incident and scattered pressure fields were simulated from which the surface normal absorption coefficients were calculated. This reciprocal process was repeated to further optimize the geometric parameters. Subsequently the numerical models were compared to a set of 3D concrete printed physical twin models which were tested in a .25 m x .25 m impedance tube. The empirical results served to improve the starting parameter settings of the initial numerical model. The geometry resulting from the numerical optimization was finally returned to grasshopper for further implementation in an interdisciplinary study.
Geometrically complex masonry structures (e.g., arches, domes, vaults) are traditionally built with scaffolding or falsework to provide stability during construction. The process of building such structures can potentially be improved through the use of multiple robots working together in a cooperative assembly framework. Here a robot is envisioned as both a placement and external support agent during fabrication-the unfinished structure is supported in such a way that scaffolding is not required. The goal of this paper is to present and validate the efficacy of three cooperative fabrication approaches using two or three robots, for the scaffold-free construction of a stable masonry arch from which a medium-span vault is built. A simplified numerical method to represent a masonry structure is first presented and validated to analyze systems composed of discrete volumetric elements. This method is then used to evaluate the effect of the three cooperative robotic fabrication strategies on the stability performance of the central arch. The sequential method and cantilever method, which utilize two robotic arms, are shown to be viable methods, but have challenges related to scalability and robustness. By adding a third robotic agent, it becomes possible to determine a structurally optimal fabrication sequence through a multi-objective optimization process. The optimized three robot method is shown to significantly improve the structural behavior over all fabrication steps. The modeling approaches presented in this paper are broadly formulated and widely applicable for the analysis of cooperative robotic fabrication sequences for the construction of masonry structures across scales.
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