Changing scale
– Up until now, I’ve been mostly working with the single module of the structure
– Zooming out, looking at the overall crease pattern of the structure
Inspiration
Origami is made up by a flexible surface with rigid geometry.
By studying different origami-patterns and distorted surfaces I hope to gain a better understanding of the concept of having a flexible surface.
I also really like the idea of the light, delicate origami pattern being interpreted in a concrete (which possess almost the opposite characteristics)
Experiment_4 Semiflexible surface
A combination of a hard and flexible surface
Taking back control of the deformation I decided to try making a semi-flexible surface from a double-layered plastic sheet with cuts allowing the surface to deform. With this formwork I kept the same front and back panels, and then changed the sides to change the form. I made 3 casts creating different elements but reusing the formwork.
Thus working in a rather small scale (30 x 20 cm) I discovered a greater need to control the deformation. In this experiment it is the obvious solution to use bolts to control the deformation. By either tightening the bolts (in this scale I used screws). In my first cast I only used 4 screws to hold the cast together. My later one I decided to add more screws to fully be able to control the deformation.
Using the bolts to control the deformation could be an ideal way to introduce the parametric and digital side of the design. By digitally controlling the deformation, you could produce an overall design made up by minor deformations in the individual elements.
I believe this experiment has some interesting potential. The formwork could be used as an in-situ system, or be produced as prefabricated elements. This experiment has opened up for more questions and further investigations.
– What is the scale of these elements?
– How does the scale of the elements affect the possibilities of the design?
– How can you control the deformation of a surface flexible?
– How can the elements/formwork be joined?
– Is it possible to adapt the interlocking formwork to a flexible surface?
– How many cuts and where should they be?
– What other materials would be suitable as formwork when working in a larger scale?
– How many casts can be done in the same formwork?
Experiment_2 and 3 Evaluation
Vertical vs. horizontal fabric casting
In both experiments we used a rigid frame formwork to hold the membrane in place. The fabric membranes were manipulated in various ways to test the material. These experiments where executed to gain a better understanding of how fabric acts as a formwork when used in a vertical or horizontal cast.
We discovered that it was very challenging to control the deformation. Especially in the vertical cast you really had to take gravity into consideration. When working with such a stretchy material it is important that you work with gravity as a design factor. This made it very had to make any accurate predictions how the final elements would be shaped.
Our trouble with controlling the deformation would probably have been less significant if we had used a more firm fabric or a thicker material (like a rubber).
On the positive side the elements had a beautiful surface structure resembling the surface of the fabric. Some of the casts had even been slightly dyed from the fabric.
Experiment_3 Excecution
Preparation
– The formwork for experiment_2 was out of a mdf frames. Fabric was suspended from the frame and clamped together with 2 different sizes of circles.
The smaller size circles was made from bottlelids and the larger ones was a standard size polystyrene ball cut in half. It required quite a bit of precision to make sure that the two circle-clamps where matching up on both sides.
– The flexible surface was a very stretchy textile membrane (rubber coated Lycra).
Deformation
Exploring the flexible surface
As mentioned earlier I am working with addition and deformation as the means of manipulation.The production of a rammed earth wall purely revolves around an additional system, where formwork panels are joined to create a rigid mould.
In my further experimentation I want to investigate the concept of having a flexible surface and allowing deformation to happen.
Experiment_1 Pise structure
My own mini-pise structure.
To put my knowledge to the test I decided to construct my own pise structure.
Because I was building a relatively small rammed earth wall/column, I decided that I would not go through the trouble of drilling holes and clamping the sides from the inside. As shown on the photos below clamping the sides of the formwork from the outside required a lot more effort than expected.
-Maybe the amounts of clamps used tell the story by it self.
In my further casting experiments I will take this lesson with me.
The structure is made of 1 bucket of dirt to 2 handfuls of concrete. A splash of water is added after the dry materials are mixed. Because I used grey (normal) concrete the colour of my mixture was a bit more dark/greyish than the one I saw on site. However after the structure was completely dry (3 days +) it dried up to be a beautiful light red colour.
The formwork was made of plywood components; a new layer of formwork was added for every layer of dirt.
The shiny surface of the plywood guarantees that formwork can be easily removed leaving a smooth surface.
Possibilities within the pise system
The pise system does satisfy some of the requirements stated by my research question:
– It’s a vertical casting system
– The formwork panels are reused
– The same formwork elements can put together in various ways to produce customized elements
Even though the pise system is somewhat flexible and you are able produce double-sided elements. The system is quite limited when it comes to exploring the design potential in amorphous shapes. The systems rigid nature is primarily designed to produce perpendicular elements. These restrictions can be traced back to the formwork and the technique used when tamping the dirt. Most amorphous and vertical variations become impossible when having to compress the earth from above.
When working with rammed earth the tamping is an essential part of the technique. Obviously when working with concrete casting a different technique is employed and the tamping becomes excessive. Changing material and therefore part of the technique generates new possibilities for incorporating a far more flexible mould system. My further investigation will revolve around the possibilities and potentials of working with a flexible surface. However I would like to take with me some of the lessons learnt from working with the pise formwork:
– The interlocking mould panels make it very easy to hold the formwork in place.
– By using bolts to clamp the formwork together from the inside, minimal support structure is needed.
fastconcrete 