TAILORING SELF-FORMATION

The project presents a design to fabrication framework for a mold-less construction of double curved surfaces based on material behavior. Fiber reinforced composites are sawn onto a flat prestressed membrane and through the prestress release the system self-forms into a desired double curved geometry, by tailoring the stiffness layout of the fibers.

The main goal of this research is to define the fiber layout, the input parameter for the TFP, that would drive the self-formation into the desired double curved geometry. The self-formation process relies on the prestress release of the membrane that actuates the bending of the cured fibers until equilibrium is reached. Therefore, the main focus of the project is the establishment of formation rules related to fiber layout, material properties and forces exerted by prestressed membranes, the three parameters that govern self-formation. To control their geometrical outcome focus was given on how surfaces exhibiting positive and negative Gaussian curvature can be generated from a flat fibrous grid. On a computational level, state of the art form-finding strategies are developed to simulate the self-formation process. Conclusions from the extensive form-finding lead to the definition of formation rules that set the basis of a form approximation process, where a designed surface is used as input and the fiber layout is generated so that the self-formation satisfies the design intention. The control of the formation process enables the exploration of the design space targeting for synclastic, anticlastic curvature, and combinations of both. The fabrication process with TFP technique is also explored, defining a suitable sequence of steps and addressing critical material aspects, such as prestress control and composite curing time. This research proposes a design to fabrication framework for this system, combining a design workflow of form approximation with its materialization with digital fabrication. Given the material behavior based nature of this system, the evaluation of its scalability and structural performance is essential. It enables to identify the potentials and limitations of the double curved composite surfaces for applications in architecture.