Researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich have developed a new technology for the construction industry that produces the shell structure for concrete constructions out of textile. The new technology works by creating a digitally generated pattern, which is then produced by an industrial knitting machine at just the touch of a button. The result is a two-layered, 3D textile supported by a steel cable-net.
The lower layer forms the visible ceiling of the concrete structure, while the upper layer contains sleeves for the cables of the formwork system and pockets for simple balloons. After the entire structure is coated in concrete, these balloons become hollow spaces, making the concrete light and material-efficient. As ETH Zurich explains, a 55-kilogram concrete structure can support over 5 tonnes of concrete. Such a manufacturing process requires substantially less material and time and can easily generate geometrically complex structures.
According to ETH professor Philippe Block, this innovative method is a new form of 3D printing, “only it doesn’t require a completely new kind of machine. A conventional knitting machine will do just fine”.
The new technology has now been used first the first time on an architectural scale to create a concrete structure for an exhibition in Mexico City. The structure is an homage to Spanish-Mexican architect Felix Candela and a collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects Computation and Design Group (ZHCODE) and Architecture Extrapolated.
