Design and fabrication methods build upon previous research on lightweight fiber structures conducted at the University of Stuttgart and expand it towards inhabitable, multi-story building systems. Interdisciplinary design collaboration based on reciprocal computational feedback allows for the concurrent consideration of architectural, structural, fabrication and material constraints. The robotic coreless filament winding process only uses minimal, modular formwork and allows for the efficient production of morphologically differentiated building components.

The research results were demonstrated through Maison Fibre, developed for the 17th Architecture Biennale in Venice. Situated at the Venice Arsenale, the installation is composed of 30 plate like elements and depicts a modular, further extensible scheme. While this first implementation of a hybrid multi-story building system relies on established glass and carbon fiber composites, the methods can be extended towards a wider range of materials ranging from ultra-high-performance mineral fiber systems to renewable natural fibers.

This article outlines the field of autonomously shape-changing granular materials and embeds them in the current state. Experimental and simulation methods for the development of shape-changing particles and granular materials are introduced. A case study on the development and testing of autonomously shape-changing particles made from a bimetal is also presented. Further research is outlined with respect to the practical, methodological, and conceptual development of an autonomously shape-changing designed granular material.

We report on the building of a Sensor Rig, that interfaces multiple aspects of the curing of our cellulose-slurry print experiments, using a mix of image-based, marker-based, and pin-based protocols for data collection. Our method uses timestamps as a common parameter to interface various modes of curing monitoring through multi-dimensional time slices. In this way, we are able to uncover underlying correlations and affects between the different phenomena occuring during curing. We report on the developed data pipelines enabling the Monitoring Framework and its associated software and hardware implementation. Through graphical Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) of 3 print experiments, we demonstrate that geometry is the main driver for behavior control. This finding is key to future architectural-scale explorations.

This research demonstrates a shift from an approach of absolute control and predictability to behavior-based methods of assembly. With this, materials and processes that are often considered too labor-intensive or unpredictable can be reintroduced. This reintroduction leads to new insights in architectural design and construction, where design outcome is uniquely tied to the building material and its assembly logic. This highly material-driven approach sets the stage for developing an effective, sustainable, light-touch method of building using natural materials.

This paper discusses the assembly and evaluation of a bamboo prototype installation aided by holographic instructions. The case study is situated within the framework of AR-driven computational design implementation methods that incorporate feedback loops between the as-built and the digital model.

The prototype construction aims to contribute to the ongoing international debate on architectural applications of digital technology and computational design tools and on the impact these have on craftsmanship and architecture fabrication. The case study uses AR-aided construction techniques to augment existing bamboo craftsmanship in order to expand its practically feasible design solution space. Participating laypersons were challenged to work at the interface of technology and material culture and engage with both latest AR systems and century-old bamboo craft.

This paper reflects on how AR tracking can be used to create a constant feedback loop between as-built installations and digitally designed source models and how this allows for the real-time assessment of design fidelity and deviations. The case study illustrates that this is especially advantageous when working with naturally varying materials, like bamboo, whose properties and behaviour cannot straightforwardly be accurately simulated digitally.

The paper concludes by discussing how augmented feedback loops within the fabrication cycle can facilitate real-time refinement of digital simulation tools with the potential to save time, cost, and material. The augmentation of onsite available skills facilitates the democratisation of non-standard architecture design production.