Material: Fibreglass prepreg
Trigger: heat
The SWIRL transfers experience and scientific knowledge of self-shaping matter into architectural scale. Fibre Composites suggest mouldless fibre-composite fabrication, motivated by the urging need reduce material and energy waste in architectural shaping processes, towards more sustainable construction. Inspired by biological self-shaping processes of fibre based systems (such as the Bauhinia seed pod or the Erodium seed ), shaping is directed by fibre orientation as well as differential shrinkage. Triggered by heat of its oven-curing process, the flat fibreglass sheet takes its final complex shape upon its quick cooling. Layering of the fibres in different fibre directions generates internal stresses which result in the formation of complex 3D shape.
Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning (Technion - Israel Institute of Technology)
The Racah Institute of Physics (The Hebrew University)
Gal Kapon
Ofri Dar
Lahav Bagrish
Tali Palmon
Eran Sharon
Arielle Blonder
The swirl is an architectural piece made of frustrated composites. In search of more sustainable fabrication processes with reduced material and energy waste as well as transportation carbon footprint, frustrated composites suggest mouldless fabrication of fibre composite surfaces, based on self-shaping. Triggered by heat, the resulting 3D shape is the result of differential shrinkage, dictated by fibre pattern.