Transit Village: Creating Space for Transition

The housing crisis has resulted in a shortage of one million homes in the Netherlands. The dilemma: simply ramping up housing production fails to solve the problem, as common methods of construction and project development repeatedly prove to be socially and environmentally unsustainable. <br/><br/>Transit Village explores a variety of...

A typological analysis of temporary medical structures before and during the Covid-19 pandemic: How can design help us to deal with situations of crisis and emergency?

In situations of crisis, regular hospitals often do not longer suffice the high demand for medical care. In this case, temporary medical structures become indispensable. The Covid 19 pandemic brought to the fore architectural challenges such as the spatial reorganization of healthcare facilities for high occupancy levels, the issue of infection...

Double-curved panels produced in a flexible mould with selfcompacting fibre-reinforced concrete

The number of applications with thin flat, curved or double-curved elements often produced as architectural elements for façades is rising fast. If the repetition factor of the elements is limited, which is often the case in free-form architecture, the high number of unique moulds makes this type of architecture economically less viable....

Kine-Mould: Manufacturing technology for curved architectural elements in concrete

The production of architectural elements with complex geometry is challenging for concrete manufacturers. Computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) milled foam moulds have been applied frequently in the last decades, resulting in good aesthetical performance. However, still the costs are high and a large volume of waste is produced. This paper...

Production of Curved Precast Concrete Elements for Shell Structures and Free-form Architecture using the Flexible Mould Method

Free-form buildings tend to be expensive. By optimizing the production process, economical and well-performing precast concrete structures can be manufactured. In this paper, a method is presented that allows producing highly accurate double curved-elements without the need for milling two expensive mould surfaces per single element. The...

Robust flowable concrete with viscosity agents

Efficient material use through smart flexible formwork method

Concrete is an excellent material for application in free-form architecture as a result of its initial fluid state. Double-curved building shapes have been realized in various fibre-reinforced mixtures, using advanced CNC-milled formwork systems. However, a substantial reduction of material use is still possible on two ends: by using a flexible...

The use of SCC and textile reinforcement

In an earlier article (CPI issue of August 2011 [1]) a method was presented for producing precast curved panels with a thickness of a few centimeters using the 'flexible mould method'. This method is the central theme in the PhD study of the first author on the realization of freeform architecture in concrete. The concrete panels manufactured...

Deliberate deformation of concrete after casting

This paper discusses the effect of intentional deformation of a flexible formwork after casting of the concrete and the influence of the characteristics of concrete in the fresh state on the quality of a concrete element. This deformation is intended to bring the concrete element in its desired final shape; the deformation typically takes place...

Transporting fibres as reinforcement in self-compacting concrete

The development of self-compacting concrete (SCC) was an important step towards efficiency at building sites, rationally producing prefabricated concrete elements, better working conditions and improved quality and appearance of concrete structures. By adding fibres to SCC bar reinforcement can be replaced and the performance of concrete...

Performance-based design of self-compacting fibre reinforced concrete

The development of self-compacting concrete (SCC) marks an important milestone in improving the product quality and efficiency of the building industry. SCC homogenously spreads due to its own weight, without any additional compaction energy and does not entrap air. SCC improves the efficiency at the construction sites, enhances the working...