As part of DFAB HOUSE, NCCR researchers have fabricated an 80 m2 lightweight concrete slab, making it the world’s first full-scale architectural project to use 3D sand printing for its formwork.
Just 20mm thick at its thinnest point, decoratively ribbed and not even half as heavy as a conventional concrete ceiling. With Smart Slab, the name says it all. The slab combines the structural strength of concrete with the design freedom of 3D printing. Developed by the research group of NCCR principal investigator Benjamin Dillenburger, Assistant Professor for Digital Building Technologies at ETH Zurich, Smart Slab is one of the core elements of the residential unit DFAB House at Empa’s and Eawag’s research and innovation platform NEST in Dübendorf. The 80 m2, 15 ton ceiling consists of eleven concrete segments and connects the lower floor with the two-story timber volume above.
Image credits: NCCR Digital Fabrication / Michael Lyrenmann
Posted Nov 21, 2018 by Delia Robalo on Rhino News, etc.