Stereoform Slab (2020)
article⁄Stereoform Slab (2020)
abstract⁄Stereoform Slab is both a pavilion and a prototype an exhibition for the 2019 Chicago Architectural Biennial. It is an experiment in how digital formfinding and robotics can be leveraged to rethink the future of concrete construction. Stereoform Slab examines the role of one of the most ubiquitous horizontal elements in the city the concrete slab, also the most common element in contemporary construction. Using smarter forming systems in this case, a ruledsurfacederived, robotic hotwire process the Stereoform Slab prototype proved that the amount of material used and waste generated could be minimized without increasing construction complexity, by about 20 over a conventional system. Stereoform also extends the conventional concrete span column spacing, specifically in Chicago, from 30’ to 45’. In developing a concrete forming system that affords added flexibility without increasing construction costs, it is possible to reduce embodied carbon significantly. The method allows reducing carbon in buildings that aren’t typically the subject of advanced architectural design or rigorous optimization conventional buildings that compose a majority of our built environment, and its respective contributions to global carbon emissions. Stereoform is the result of a multiobjective design optimization process. Optimal materialization, according to the compressivetensile physics present in beam design, was balanced against the fabrication constraints of a singularly ruledsurface, which enables fast formmaking using robotic hotwire cutting. SOM and Autodesk collaborated to mirror the approach developed to optimize Stereoform slab as a pavilion, to the building scale, using the multiobjective optimization platform Refinery. Project Refinery allowed the team to create a hyperresponsive system design that could adapt to any number of varying programmatic conditions and loading patterns. The development of this approach is a crucial step in making optimization techniques flexible enough to balance the number of competing parameters in the design process available and accessible to a broader design audience within architecture and engineering.
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| Year |
2020 |
| Authors |
Vansice, Kyle; Attraya, Rahul; Culligan, Ryan; Johnson, Benton; Sondergaard, Asbjorn; Peters, Nate. |
| Issue |
ACADIA 2020: Distributed Proximities / Volume II: Projects |
| Pages |
148-153 |
| Library link |
N/A |
| Entry filename |
stereoform-slab |
