Fast Complexity (2020-10)¶

Worldwide, the concrete industry produces 2.8 Mt of greenhouse gases per year, roughly 8% of the global emissions (Scrivener 2018). Hence, using concrete more efficiently can have a significant benefit to the environment. However, material efficiency often translates into complex, optimized shapes. Such shapes present a fabrication challenge for commercial formwork systems with limited customizability. Digital fabrication with concrete aims to overcome the geometric limitations of standardized formworks and implicitly reduce the ecological footprint of the building industry. Recent research has demonstrated that complex geometries can reduce concrete use in building elements by up to 70%. One of the most significant material economy potentials is in structural slabs because they represent 85% of the weight of multi-story concrete structures. Despite this significant proportion, slabs are almost exclusively over-dimensioned monolithic boxes with flat surfaces. To address this opportunity, Fast Complexity proposes an automated fabrication process for highly optimized slabs with ornamented soffits (Figure 1). The process combines reusable 3D-printed formwork (3DPF) and 3D concrete printing (3DCP).