Maison Fibre

This research demonstrates the development of a hybrid FRP-timber wall and slab system for multi-story structures. Bespoke computational tools and robotic fabrication processes allow for adaptive placement of material according to specific local requirements of the structure thus representing a resource-efficient alternative to established modes of construction. This constitutes a departure from pre-digital, material-intensive building methods, based on isotropic materials towards genuinely digital building systems using lightweight, hybrid composite elements. Design and fabrication methods build upon previous research on lightweight fiber structures conducted at the University of Stuttgart and expand it towards inhabitable, multi-story building systems. Interdisciplinary design collaboration based on reciprocal computational feedback allows for the concurrent consideration of architectural, structural, fabrication and material constraints. The robotic coreless filament winding process only uses minimal, modular formwork and allows for the efficient production of morphologically differentiated building components. The research results were demonstrated through Maison Fibre, developed for the 17th Architecture Biennale in Venice. Situated at the Venice Arsenale, the installation is composed of 30 plate like elements and depicts a modular, further extensible scheme. While this first implementation of a hybrid multi-story building system relies on established glass and carbon fiber composites, the methods can be extended towards a wider range of materials ranging from ultra-high-performance mineral fiber systems to renewable natural fibers.