Structures, Materials and Construction
Research in structures, materials and construction is conducted in design studios, advanced seminars and through sponsored research projects. The results of research projects have been published widely. They have also been presented at conferences throughout North America and Europe. A current focus is on material assemblies for robotic handling, design for low-embodied energy, and a performance-based approach to design.
Current Projects
Robotic Fabrication
This ongoing research looks at new opportunities for design through robotic fabrication technologies. Industrial robots are the most flexible fabrication environments that lend themselves well to the low-volume and custom fabrication typical in the context of buildings and landscapes.
Mobile Information Unit
This interdisciplinary project used innovative fabrication technology and structural optimization in the design of an interactive, mobile kiosk.
Project Sponsor: Harvard Art Museum
Recent Projects
Post-Tensioned Structural Stone Surfaces
This ongoing research project investigates the relation between light and structures in the context of structural use of natural stone. Stone panels are manipulated through robotic water jet cutting technology. The prototypical installation is a 20 x 9 ft vertical stone shell, post-tensioned and only 1.25 inches thick. (more)
Project Sponsor: The International Masonry Institute
Structural Origami: Folded Ferrocement Plates
Ferrocement is a thin, mesh reinforced cementitious composite. This versatile material has been used to produce ship hulls, water tanks and a wide array of architectural elements, but labor intense traditional construction techniques have all but eliminated this material from the designer’s palette in the United States. In order for flat ferrocement components to be foldable into three-dimensional structures fold lines can be determined through parametric digital design techniques. These hinges can be fabricated with special fabrication techniques, but they must be carefully designed with the appropriate structural analysis and proper reinforcement. CNC techniques allow parametric variations of different types of folded plate structures to be easily implemented, allowing for a wide range of shapes to be generated. The research quantified design and fabrication procedures and tested them in small prototypes and extensive simulations.
The research is based on a concept by Robert J. Wheen at the University of Sydney, Australia.
Principal Investigator: Martin Bechthold
Sponsor: Harvard GSD, Euclid Chemical
Concrete Sandwich Shells
A study in digitally-driven custom-manufacturing, this project addresses the main challenge of concrete shell construction: the time-consuming and costly making of the complexly-shaped formwork needed for the pouring of the concrete. The new process proposes the digitally controlled pre-fabrication of thin ferrocement segments. These segments serve as permanent formwork for the pouring of the primary, loadbearing concrete layer on site.
The parametric modeling techniques used in the design of concrete sandwich shells include custom modeling macros that facilitate the preparation of the shell for pre-fabrication. Pre-fabricated sandwich shells reduce the need to produce multiple shells from the same formwork, since repetition only marginally impacts fabrication cost in the new process. The resulting sandwich shells are also stiffer than conventional shells.
Principal Investigator: Martin Bechthold
Sponsor: Harvard GSD
Prototype for a Plywood Wheelchair
This project used CAD/CAM techniques to develop plywood components for a wheelchair base by the Swedish Wheelchair manufacturer Permobil. Complexly-shaped molded plywood chair shells, backrests and armrests were designed, and multiple prototypes were fabricated and tested.
Principal Investigator: Marco Steinberg
Sponsor: Permobil
Wood/Foam Sandwich Shells
Shells are thin structural surfaces that carry loads by means of membrane stresses that develop in their curved shapes. Wood/Foam Sandwich Shells are a new, pre-fabricated shell type that relies on parametric design techniques and Computer-Numerically Controlled (CNC) fabrication processes. Wood strips are laminated into rigid, curved layers that bond to the structural foam core. Advanced structural analysis methods translate into the optimized orientation of laminated wood strips in the sandwich facings. Several prototypes and structural testing of sample materials confirms the validity of the process.
Doctoral Thesis of Martin Bechthold
Testing Sponsor: Gougeon Brothers, Inc.
Brunelleschi's Dome
This project explores and visualizes the research which Massimo Ricci, a Florentine architect, has been collecting for 20 years on the construction techniques of the Dome of the Florence Cathedral. An interactive CD-Rom, produced by The Center for Design Informatics (CDI) at the Harvard Design School, investigates ways to present the historical masonry construction practices and the specific building techniques used to construct the dome. The interactive multimedia interface includes 3D digital models and animations that visualize the building processes and construction methods developed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1420. Also included is a structural study of the dome using Finite-Element Methods.
Principal Investigator: Daniel Schodek
Sponsor: The International Masonry Institute