Polycement: A Material Research On Funicular Shell Structures

Additive manufacturing techniques are being widely used today across different fields and scales, ranging from product design to architecture. However, the integration of these techniques with existing methods of fabrication still remains an uncharted territory. In this study, a technique was developed for the construction of concrete funicular shell structures and a possible integration of polymer additive manufacturing with concrete construction was investigated. Throughout the study, various funicular shells were designed using physical simulations for form finding. Then, lattices were designed following the shell geometry. Prototypes of these lattices were fabricated using a 3D printer and a concrete mixture was applied on top to create the shells. Thus in this study, Polycement is presented as an innovative approach as to how we think of the integration of additive manufacturing and reinforced concrete construction which offers many potential benefits, such as structural lightness, material economy, and accurate distribution of loads.