Revisiting a traditional brick: a modern approach to an age old material
Date
2020-09-03
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Abstract
This thesis will investigate robotically 3D printed bricks as a
structural material to construct a funicular structure without the use
of mortar or adhesives, and thus eliminate the need for falsework.
The use of robotic fabrication processes will create bricks that yield
less waste and provide greater effciency in the construction process.
A new approach for a traditional brick will be investigated, using
design and fabrication through digital architectural design. With the
extreme changes in temperature and signifcant yearly precipitation
in Sudbury, being able to get out of the environmental conditions is
a necessity. Often wait times for buses can vary from 15 minutes to
three hours, depending on whether it is a rural or urban area. A bus
shelter that can be easily implemented will be designed specifc to
site, using pre-fabricated 3D printed components that will interlock
when assembled. Through the use of advanced manufacturing
technology, processes to reduce embodied energy within a material
and building strategy will be explored; introducing a new typology for
the understanding of a modern brick and its potential. The process
for geometry development will range from analogue explorations
to digital geometry-based optimization techniques of form and
fabrication.
The robotic additive manufacturing of custom bricks, will
inform the exploration of a funicular structure by enriching the known
formal vocabulary of shell design, by way of advanced manufacturing
processes. The brick is a building block used extensively in
architecture. By expanding the manufacturing processes of traditional
brick, a new ideology can evolve, one that combines natural
materials with a funicular typology. This study refects contemporary
technologies, while revisiting historical construction techniques for
stereotomic stone and brick. It will further develop effcient design and
fabrication strategies for a funicular structure, based on architectural
and structural requirements and constraints. It will employ the use of
computational design tools and form fnding methods to assist in the
development of a funicular structure without the need for falsework.