Fabrication and Material aware Architecture

Construction and demolition waste constitutes one of the largest waste streams in Europe, yet much of it, especially granular waste such as crushed brick and concrete remains underutilized. While these materials are often downcycled as aggregates or end up in landfills, they hold an unexplored potential for architectural construction. This course questions: “How can granular waste be repurposed as a reconfigurable, and therefore circular, formwork system for structurally optimized geometries using digital technologies?”

The students will develop an understanding of: 

• The fundamental link between sustainable design and knowledge of materials. 
• A holistic and iterative process from design to production: 

1. Digital design and fabrication, adjusted to material constraints. 

2. How to process and prepare materials. 

3. Analogue concrete casting procedures.

• Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• Sustainable cities and communities
• Responsible consumption and production

In presence

Students will design and prototype custom robotic end-effectors and develop shaping strategies to fabricate scaled architectural formwork components that will be cast in concrete. Through lectures by experts in the field and hands-on experimentation, students will gain insights into digital design and fabrication, robotic fabrication, and circular construction strategies for concrete architecture.

Coupled with small assignments during the term, the final exam will consist of a presentation bringing together all the findings, insights and design iterations that have been explored along the way. 

This will include: 

- conceptual drawings and diagrams of the design

- documentation of experiments and fabrication processes

 - scaled physical models.