Printed Formwork explores the design and fabrication of intricate architectural structures through the application of 3D printed formwork strategies. The prototypes each use a different 3D printed material to act as either sacrificial or temporary formwork for normal cast concrete, fibre-reinforced cast concrete.

The intricate architectural structures are designed through the interaction of generative multi-agent algorithms, which are conditioned by fabrication constraints, and BESO structural topology optimisation. The focus of this research is a design methodology that establishes a complementary relationship between topological optimisation, behavioural algorithms, robotic 3D printing and materiality. These prototypes, while small in scale, attempt to explore the architectonic implications of the interaction of emerging computational design and robotic fabrication processes, and speculate on their future application to architecture. This digital fabrication methodology has been tested through the generative design and additive manufacture of architectural component prototypes to be exhibited at the 2020 Future Prototyping Exhibition – Melbourne Design Week at the University of Melbourne, the 2021 DigitalFutures Exhibition – Shanghai Design Week at Tongji University and the 2022 International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Conference & Expo.

PUBLICATIONS

• J. Ma, M. Gomaa, D. W. Bao, A. R. Javan, and Y. M. Xie, “PrintNervi – Design and construction of a ribbed floor system in the digital era,” in Innovation, Sustainability and Legacy: Proceedings of the IASS Annual Symposium 2022 and the 13th Asian-Pacific Conference on Shell and Spatial Structures, Beijing, China, September 19–22, 2022.

• J. Ma, M. Gomaa, D. W. Bao, A. R. Javan, and Y. M. Xie, “PrintNervi – Design and construction of a ribbed floor system in the digital era,” Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, vol. 63, pp. 241-251, Dec. 2022.

• D.W. Bao, R. Snooks, and Y.M. Xie, “Cast Bodies”, Future Prototyping, Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne, pp 60-63, 2020