Concrete is the most used human-made material in the world, and it is responsible for around 8% of the total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Hence, efficient concrete construction methods are one of the main foci of research in architecture, civil engineering, and material science. One recent development that promises to achieve this goal is the use of digital fabrication for building components. Most investigations focus on direct extrusion 3D printing with concrete, which has already been covered in several review articles. Conversely, this article reviews a different approach, which focuses on the indirect digital fabrication of concrete through 3D printed formworks. This approach is under investigation for structural and nonstructural, as well as for onand off-site applications, with a number of projects having already been built, but a comprehensive review of 3D printed formworks has not yet been compiled to synthesize the findings. This article provides a comprehensive map of the state-of-the-art of five different 3D printing technologies used for the fabrication of formworks so far. The aim is to serve as a fundamental reference for future research, provide a basis for consistent language in this field, and support the development of construction standards. The article further discusses the new geometric possibilities with 3D printed formworks and their potential for making concrete construction more sustainable. In addition, the opportunities and challenges of 3D printed formworks are evaluated in the context of other traditional and digital fabrication tools. A synthetic classification in five functional typologies is proposed and illustrated with 30 representative case studies. Finally, the article concludes with a brief reflection on the role of 3D printing in the broader context of formwork innovation and a possible outlook for this technology.
The imperative need for complex geometries in architecture is driving innovation towards an unconstrained fabrication freedom in building components. Fabrication constraints are a critical obstacle when material efficiency through complex, optimized topologies is sought. To address this constraint, this research investigates the use of 3D printed plastic formwork for fibre reinforced concrete at large scale. This novel construction method makes complex topologies and precise details possible for full-scale, load bearing structures. To demonstrate its potential applications, SkelETHon -a functional four-meter-long concrete canoe-was designed, built and raced in a regatta on the Rhine river (Figure 1).
Digital fabrication is revolutionizing architecture, enabling the construction of complex and multi-functional building elements. Multi-functionality is often achieved through material reduction strategies such as functional or material hybridization. However, these design strategies may increase environmental impacts over the life cycle. The integration of functions may hinder the maintenance and shorten the service life. Moreover, once a building element has reached the end of life, hybrid materials may influence negatively its recycling capacity. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of multi-functionality in the environmental performance of two digitally fabricated architectural elements: The Sequential Roof and Concrete-Sandstone Composite Slab and to compare them with existing standard elements. Methods A method based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework is applied for the evaluation of the environmental implications of multi-functionality in digital fabrication. The evaluation consists of the comparison of embodied impacts between a multi-functional building element constructed with digital fabrication techniques and a conventional one, both with the same building functions. Specifically, the method takes into account the lifetime uncertainty caused by multi-functionality by considering two alternative service life scenarios during the evaluation of the digitally fabricated building element. The study is extended with a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the additional environmental implications during end-of-life processing derived from the use of hybrid materials to achieve multi-functionality in architecture. Results and discussion The evaluation of two case studies of digitally fabricated architecture indicates that their environmental impacts are very sensitive to the duration of their service life. Considering production and life span phases, multi-functional building elements should have a minimum service life of 30 years to bring environmental benefits over conventional construction. Furthermore, the case study of Concrete-Sandstone Composite Slab shows that using hybrid materials to achieve multi-functionality carries important environmental consequences at the end of life, such as the emission of air pollutants during recycling. Conclusions The results from the case studies allow the identification of key environmental criteria to consider during the design 2 of digitally fabricated building elements. Multi-functionality provides material efficiency during production, but design adaptability must be a priority to avoid a decrease in their environmental performance. Moreover, the high environmental impacts caused by end-of-life processing should be compensated during design.
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