RECOBI – Renovation of complex geometry buildings with AM
Channel: General ideas and needs in the field of additive manufacturing
In architecture, two measures to reduce CO2 emissions and reverse the decline in bio-diversity involve insulating existing buildings and greening roofs.
The idea is to use new technologies to apply these measures to buildings with complex geometries – many of which are historic monuments – that cannot be isolated with standard, flat elements.
A building to demonstrate the idea with prototyping was chosen with the owner: the Flieger Flab Museum in Dübendorf.
The process involves 3D scanning of a building or its complex components in order to model and then additively manufacture special parts, here called tiles.
The material of these printed tiles will be defined during a workshop with the project’s stakeholders. The materials selected are: ceramic, concrete and terracotta. Consideration will be given to printing in a honeycomb structure to reduce material and weight.
The 3D scan also enables the shape of the insulating layer to be defined, which the tile will protect from impact and bad weather (i.e. hail).
The proposed prototype involves the shaping of mycelium moulded into the tile and shaped according to the hyperboloid curve of the museum roof.
Alternatively, a mixture of hemp-lime-gypsum could be sprayed onto the roof, or expanded glass insulation panels shaped by subtractive manufacturing.
The choice of materials will be made by a panel of experts at the start of the project.
In this proposal, as well as protecting the insulating layer, the tiles hold the plant layer in place, particularly on steep parts of the roof.
The system proposed as a prototype is non-invasive, can be dismantled and its components reused or recycled. The historic building remains intact.
