My first Publication Arup_BuildingDesign2020_v2 | Page 30

Contour Crafting is a rapid prototyping technology which uses a quick-setting concrete-like material to rapidly build structures with included structural components, plumbing, wiring and fixtures, achieving significant reductions in both Case Study: Digital Timber Construction material waste and construction process emissions. Koshnevis’ adaptation of computer- controlled mold printing has significant implications for the AEC industry as a whole, particularly with regard to climate resilience, as the technology could be used for affordable housing or automated rebuilding in the wake of natural disasters. Early evaluations by NASA indicate potential applications for contour crafting in lunar or exoplanetary base construction. Location / Business: Behrokh Koshnevis / University of Southern California for public use. New methods of fabrication This wooden roof structure for a university architecture lab would be impossible to build by hand. Gramazio & Kohler’s design consists of more than 45,000 individual timber elements, woven into a complex, free-form design via automated digital fabrication. The combination of cutting-edge digital fabrication technology with a local, sustainable resource points the way to a near future where simple, renewable materials are given new aesthetic and structural possibilities through intricate assembly methods. The project showcases an end- to-end digital planning process, connecting design, structural analysis and construction processes. Location / Business: Gramazio & Kohler, Architecture and Digital Fabrication, ETH Zurich. The Sequential Roof, Zurich, 2010-2015 Client: ETH Zurich Building and Constructions Infrastructure Division A combination of smart and sustainable materials, new software and advanced tooling techniques will allow construction methodologies such as prefabrication to become an increasingly interesting design possibility. As off-site construction is engaged in a larger proportion of projects, design paradigms will evolve to enable this process, reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Building-scale fabrication will come to be characterised by an increasing departure from traditional, labor-intensive on-site processes. The trend of design for digital fabrication presents opportunities not to merely execute traditional designs more efficiently, but to experiment with new design paradigms and structural forms unimaginable using traditional approaches. Design for digital fabrication has natural affinities for BIM and parametric design methods, allowing advanced geometries to be explored and modified to suit a given project. Novel methods of additive and subtractive fabrication unlock the potential for new geometries impossible with traditional methods of design and fabrication. 30 Case Study: Contour Crafting Building Design 2020 31