Jammed Architecture
Is it possible to build high rise structures just from strings and gravel? Yes it is!
In a team with architects from the Gramazio Kohler Research we investigated and developed methods and techniques for the robotic aggregation of low-grade building material into load-bearing architectural structures. These are reusable and reconfigurable with high geometrical flexibility and minimal material waste. The resulting architectural structures are exceptionally efficient in terms of both capacity (formal and functional) and structural performance, are reversible and can be produced without additional formwork or other means of manual construction, and can be aggregated from local or recycled materials. We explored the fundamental mechanical behaviour of such string reinforced granular matter both experimentally and with Discrete Element Simulations.
Outreach:
- P.S. Iliev, F.K. Wittel, H.J. Herrmann: Evolution of fragment size distributions from crushing of granular materials, Physical Review E 99 (2019), 012904.
- G. Rusenova, F.K. Wittel, P. Aejmelaeus-Lindström, F. Gramazio, M. Kohler: Load-Bearing Capacity and Deformation of Jammed Architectural Structures, 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 5 (4/2018), 256-267.
- P.S. Iliev, F.K. Wittel, H.J. Herrmann: Discrete element modeling of free-standing wire-reinforced jammed granular columns, Computational Particle Mechanics 5 (4/2018), 507-516.
- M. Fauconneau, F.K. Wittel, H.J. Herrmann: Continuous Fiber Reinforcement for Jammed Granular Architecture, Granular Matter (2016), 18:27.
Key principles of this project were demonstrated in 2015 at the Chicago Architecture Biennial (Rock Print) and the Ars Electronica Festival 2017. The last project called Rock Print Pavilion was built in 2018 on the church square in the old town of Winterthur in the context of the "Hello, Robot" exhibition.
ETH research grant project together with Hans Herrmann, Fabio Gramazio, Mathias Kohler, Mathias Fauconnneau, Pavel Iliev, Gergana Rusenova, Petrus Aejmelaeus-Lindström, Ammar Mirjan, Romana Rust.