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This research addresses energy consumption challenges in the design and construction of concrete freeform surface architecture. It proposes an integrated design approach centered on smooth poly-hypar surfaces, serving as a mediator to amalgamate architectural smoothness, structural stiffness, construction convenience, and building energy efficiency from the initial design phase. To testify the versatile functionality of smooth poly-hypar surfaces beyond structural loadbearing, they are employed in the design and construction of a Solar house—a prototype aimed at establishing an energy-efficient modular design and construction system for concrete-freeform surface buildings. This approach capitalizes on the unique structural and geometrical properties offered by smooth poly-hypar surfaces. By leveraging this special geometry, the methodology transcends individual stages, encompassing the entire integrated process and overcoming limitations associated with traditional sequential design strategies. It underscores the interconnected nature of design, construction, and sustainability considerations.

This article presents a new approach to the design of freeform shells: smooth poly-hypar surface structures. As combinations of hyperbolic paraboloids (hypars), smooth poly-hypar surfaces are ruled locally while globally appearing to be continuous freeform. The double curvature of the individual hypar modules and the smooth connections (G1 degree) between them ensure global bending-free structural behavior, while the ruled geometrical property of these surfaces allows the relatively low cost of construction. In this article, the structural performance of smooth poly-hypar surface is calculated on two levels with vactor-based graphic statics: the distribution of internal forces within an individual hypar, and the combination of hypars. It also defines two geometrical constraints of a smooth poly-hypar surface—the coplanarity principle and load paths—which ensure the visual smoothness of the surface and limit only membrane forces transmitted within the global surface. Moreover, several built case studies are presented as applications of smooth poly-hypar surfaces in architectural design, which also show the ease of construction of this new type of double-curved freeform surface structures.

Free-formed frameworks are architecturally appealing constructions. They allow for maximum creative freedom as well as for a structural optimization of the support structure. The design and construction of these kind of structures is complex however, and therefore challenging, with each frame member having an individual length, each cladding plate an individual dimension and especially each knot having an individual geometry. The result is that geometry optimization and production technology become the most important processes when striving for an economic and ecological construction. The goals of the authors are the automation of the design process by applying a parametric model and the collection of the complete complexity in the knots as well as the production of these knots without material wastage by additive manufacturing. The development process was split into three different phases: (1) Preliminary experiments determining the tension, compression and bending load-bearing behavior of the knots produced by additive manufacturing, using different polymer-based materials: ABS, ASA, PA-CF, PA6CT, PCX, PETG and a mixture of PLA and ABS. (2) Development of an automated digital workflow for the design and production of these structures by the use of a parametric approach. (3) Design, production and assembly of a full-scale prototype in the form of a free-formed shell structure spanning an area of 20 m . The prototype was made from fumed oak wood members in combination with white stained plywood panels connected by knots produced by Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) additive manufacturing, using polymer-based materials and screws. At the end of the contribution, a summary and an outlook on further research is given.

Contemporary innovations in structural form-finding and fabrication techniques are leading to design of freeform masonry architecture. These new forms create new challenges in laying out tessellation patterns, especially if structural, fabrication and construction requirements as well as aesthetical considerations are taken into account. Addressing these challenges, we review historic stone-cutting strategies and their geometric principles, forming the base for the development of two new discretisation approaches for given thrust surfaces, allowing for various degrees of user control. First, we introduce a tessellation approach based on primal, anisotropic triangular meshes and their dual counterparts. Second, an alternative tessellation approach based on transverse cutting curves is presented. Using a simple set of geometric rules, both methods enable the design of rigid, staggered bonds with locally force-flow aligned block configurations to avoid sliding failures. For this research, the tessellation design of the Armadillo Vault, an unreinforced, dry-assembled, cut-stone stone shell, served as a case study to demonstrate the feasibility of our methods in the context of a full-scale architectural project.

Rapid casting (RC) of freeform-surface parts can be realized via replacing wax patterns by stereolithography (SL) patterns to overcome the disadvantage of time-and-cost consuming in traditional investment casting. It has a promising application prospect in single and small batch production. But ceramic shell cracking during the pyrolyzing of SL patterns limits the application and popularization of RC. In this paper, a simplified thermo-mechanical model was first built and the distribution rule of circumferential stress on the contact boundary between SL patterns and ceramic shell was theoretically derived using displacement method to predict dangerous area of freeform-surface parts. Subsequently, the variation rule of circumferential stress at the predicted dangerous area with changing temperature was revealed by applying transient thermo-mechanical finite element analysis (FEA) on a turbine blade cross section. The comparison of theoretical and FEA results indicated that the circumferential stress was enlarged by the freeform shape of turbine blade instead of being relieved due to the softening of resin. Dangerous temperature range was then determined, so polyimide was added to increase strength under corresponding temperature to prevent shell cracking. An experimental validation was offered to verify our point.