Interaction of reinforcement, process, and form in Digital Fabrication with Concrete

Material, manufacturing process, and form are mutually dependent. In formwork-based concrete construction, the reinforcement must be positioned and fixed in the formwork, limiting material efficiency and freedom of form. In Digital Fabrication with Concrete (DFC), the formwork no longer limits the concrete forming process. Furthermore, the reinforcement no longer must be installed in advance, but can be placed before, during or after the concrete application. Therefore, the role of reinforcement and its interaction with processing must be fundamentally rethought in DFC. Furthermore, with reinforcement integration a concrete component expands from a contour-based shape into a structural form.

The current paper proposes a new so-called RPF-framework expressing the interaction of reinforcement, process and form in DFC. The application of this framework is illustrated using current examples of DFC, whose structural forms are critically discussed. Finally, the need for a holistic approach to material, process and form in DFC is emphasised.