Location: New York, New York

Date: 2007

The research into custom precast concrete is based on an invariant topological model that can be directly translated to an equivalent ‘topological mold’.  conceptually, the systems would allow for the production of continuous geometric variations from a single reconfigurable mold, thus reducing the amount of material and energy consumption required to produce unique objects… not to mention cost. The internal logic of each system gives way to the final design through a kind of bottom up approach t o design…i.e., ‘what does the module want to be’, and in how many ways can it be deployed in order to ‘commodiously ’ adapt to its context, both physical, social, and psychological. Ultra-High Performance Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete was selected as a material for investigation due to its ability to be easily cast into complex molds without traditional steel reinforcing. This material has the potential to form very thin structural sections of both synclastic and anticlastic doubly curved surfaces in a very economical mode leading the way to the ubiquitous production of geometric complexity without high material/energy costs.

Project Team: Ted Urich, Vishwadeep Deo, Chad Stacy, Lorraine Ong