Paneling architectural freeform surfaces

Abstract

The emergence of large-scale freeform shapes in architecture poses big challenges to the fabrication of such structures. A key problem is the approximation of the design surface by a union of patches, socalled panels, that can be manufactured with a selected technology at reasonable cost, while meeting the design intent and achieving the desired aesthetic quality of panel layout and surface smoothness. The production of curved panels is mostly based on molds.Since the cost of mold fabrication often dominates the panel cost, there is strong incentive to use the same mold for multiple panels. We cast the major practical requirements for architectural surface paneling, including mold reuse, into a global optimization framework that interleaves discrete and continuous optimization steps to minimize production cost while meeting user-specified quality constraints. The search space for optimization is mainly generated through controlled deviation from the design surface and tolerances on positional and normal continuity between neighboring panels. A novel 6-dimensional metric space allows us to quickly compute approximate inter-panel distances, which dramatically improves the performance of the optimization and enables the handling of complex arrangements with thousands of panels. The practical relevance of our system is demonstrated by paneling solutions for real, cutting-edge architectural freeform design projects.

Innovative free-form glass fiber reinforced concrete (GRC) panel

“…Since the cost of mold fabrication often dominates the panel cost (Eigensatz et al, 2010) around 40-80% of the final panel price. Recent digital advances allow for complex façade panel fabrication at a reasonable price, by means obviating the use of molds as the 3d printing process reviewed in this paper.…”

“…The main difficulty is the design approach of the surface as a series of patches, called panels, which can be designed and manufactured using a selected technology. Thus, the desired aesthetic quality and surface smoothness is achieved ( Eigensatz, M., Kilian, M., Schiftner, A., Mitra, N., Pottmann, H., & Pauly, M., 2010).…”

State of the Art in Methods and Representations for Fabrication-Aware Design

“…This formulation can also be combined with subdivision surfaces to potentially create a powerful modeling tool. Similarly, Eigensatz et al [EKS*10] minimize production cost through the approximation of a given freeform surface by easily manufactured panel templates. The method is restricted to planar, cylindrical, paraboloid, toric, and cubic patches, and seeks to minimize the set of required panel types while preserving a user‐determined quality level.…”

“…Most surfaces cannot be represented in such a clean manner, however it is highly desirable to do so if possible. This representation is concise, elegant, and most importantly can be analytically derived, which has been leveraged in fabrication applications to significantly improve gradient based optimization [EKS*10, MIB15]. Special constructs like Chebyshev nets [GSFD*14] and discrete conformal geometry [KCD*16] have been elegantly adapted to model specific material behavior, facilitating editing operations otherwise unfeasible.…”

Darboux cyclides and webs from circles

“…Both simple geometry and repetition of elements contribute to this goal of efficiency (see e.g. Liu et al (2006); Pottmann et al (2007bPottmann et al ( , 2008; Schiftner et al (2009) ;Eigensatz et al (2010); Fu et al (2010); Singh and Schaefer (2010)).…”