Surface Articulation as Structural Leverage in Large Scale 3D Printing @ eCAADe 2024

Authors: Pavlos Fereos, Kilian Bauer, Eftychios-Nicolaos Efthimiou

Acknowledgements: The Additive Hyper-Ornamental Prototypes Trilogy was developed within cooperative computational design and digital fabrication courses at the Universität Innsbruck and the University of Nicosia from the year 2021 to 2024 and received funding from both institutions. The research was conducted with great infrastructural and personnel support of the Robotic Experimentation Lab (REX|LAB), led by Prof. Marjan Colletti at the Universität Innsbruck. Student research assistant was Julian Edelmann. Student assistants were Simon Hildebrand, Amy Ehinger and Theresa Biesalski. The authors also would like to thank all students who participated and contributed to the courses.

The research was presented at the Conference for Education and research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) in September 2024 in Nicosia, Cyprus. The full paper is available on cumincad.org

Abstract: As large-scale robotic 3D printing continues to gain traction in architecture, design and construction, the necessity to develop fabrication-inherent strategies and guidelines to overcome generic limitations of the method becomes increasingly apparent. To contribute to this process, this paper presents three prototypes that explore the concept of surface articulation through geometry manipulation as structural leverage in large scale robotic 3D printing. Each of the three prototypes addresses a specific architectural task with increasing ambition to incrementally challenge the hypothesis. The three research pieces are a three-meter tall, leaning Column, an ornamental Throne and a two and a half meters tall, cantilevering Lamp-post. While the three prototypes represent only a small series of case studies, they are nonetheless diverse and demonstrate situations of different structural stresses, ranging from tension to compression to bending. In the attempt to counteract these structural stresses, all three prototypes pursue the notion of geometry manipulation in the appearance of surface articulation. While the approach to improve surface rigidity through complexity and folding has been known for a long time, it is inherent to the nature of digital design and fabrication, which could revive surface ornamentation in additive manufacturing. The three objects presented, which together form the Trilogy of Additive Hyper-Ornamental Prototypes, aim to contribute to this process by showcasing initial explorations into surface articulation as structural leverage in large scale 3D printing and the aesthetics inherent to this process in order to inspire further research.