C.A.S.T.

THE CENTRE FOR ARCHITECTURAL UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA STRUCTURES AND TECHNOLOGY FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE

CONSTRUCTION
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COLUMNS PRE-CAST PANELS SHOTCRETE SHELL PANELS LIGHT-WEIGHT BEAMS STRUCTURAL RESEARCH FABRIC-CAST TRUSSES BATCH COLUMN BULGE WALLS BULGE WALL COLUMNS VAULTS MASONRY SCULPTURE C.A.S.T. NETWORKS AND OUTREACH
CAST RESEARCH HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY: CFI - Canada Foundation for Innovation WED - Western Economic Diversification Canada SSHRC - Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada CPCI - Canadian Precast Concrete Institute Manitoba Chapter CAC - Cement Association of Canada NSERC - Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada CMRI - Canadian Masonry Research Institute CDRN - Canadian Design Research Network Lafarge Building Materials Winnipeg Canada Over 90 construction companies and suppliers from the North American construction industry.

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C.A.S.T.

THE CENTRE FOR ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE

The Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology seeks new boundaries for architectural thought, design, and building technology through physical explorations of materials, tools, and methods, the study of natural law, and the free play of imagination. A wide range of methods for research and creation are used together at C.A.S.T., mixing traditions of fine arts, engineering and architectural design. The inventions illustrated in this booklet were all developed at C.A.S.T. using simple construction methods and common building materials, making these new technologies accessible to both high and low capital building cultures and economies. Common to all these new methods is a concentration on material reduction in construction. In some of this work, antique structural forms are reexamined and reintroduced in the form of efficient and sustainable compression structures, while others provide entirely unprecedented forms and geometries with extraordinary poetic and structural potential.

WINNIPEG, CANADA

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1. Student preparing scaffolding for full-scale construction tests 2. The C.A.S.T. Building: designed and constructed specifically to support speculative architectural research.

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COLUMNS

Inexpensive rectangular sheets of fabric can be used to create a multitude of column designs. These reusable light-weight formworks use hundreds of times less material than conventional rigid plywood or steel column forms, and are even more efficient than cardboard tube forms. The flexibility of the fabric membrane tube offers opportunities for the natural production of new architectural and sculptural forms.

3. Precast concrete columns constructed for the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Winnipeg, Canada. 4. Fabric cast columns at the College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, U.S.A. 5. Variable diameter fabric column formwork filled with concrete 6. Detail of a precast column constructed for the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Winnipeg, Canada.

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1. Cast Plaster models (foreground) and full-scale formwork tests (background) 2. The C.A.S.T. Buildings walls used as chalkboards for drawing and conversation. 3. Model construction in a C.A.S.T. workshop class.

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PRE-CAST PANELS
Precast Panels can be produced in flexible fabric molds using a flat rectangular sheet of fabric stretched in a steel frame. Multiple designs can be produced by altering the pattern of supports placed beneath the fabric sheet. Fabric-cast concrete panels can also be used as molds to produce lightweight, funicular shell-shaped panels.

4. Student models of fabric-cast panel designs 5. Full-scale fabric-cast concrete panels designed and built by architecture student Mike Monette at the Lafarge precast factory, Winnipeg, Canada 6. Full-scale fabric-formed shell panel designed and built by Mark West at the Lafarge precast factory, Winnipeg, Canada. 7. Full-scale precast panel formwork designed and built by architecture student Jeff Machnicki at the Lafarge precast factory, Winnipeg, Canada. 8. Full-scale fabric-cast concrete panel designed and built by architecture students Ken Borton, Andrea Flynn, Jonathan Trenholm, being prepared for use as a mold.

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SHOTCRETE SHELL PANELS

The latest research at C.A.S.T. is developing methods of producing very light, thin-shell panels by spraying fibre-reinforced shotcrete against a suspended sheet of fabric.

1. Drawing Workshop at C.A.S.T. 2. Electronic music performance at C.A.S.T.

3. Shotcrete being applied to hanging fabric mold 4. Model of a thin-shell wall panel made by spraying plaster on a hanging fabric sheet. 5. Close-up view of a fabric-formed thin-shell plaster model. Full-scale thin-shell wall panel made by spraying fibre-reinforced concrete on a hanging geotextile sheet Lafarge Precast factory, Winnipeg, Canada

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1. Graduate Research Assistant Josh Rudd and PhD engineering candidate Fariborz Hashemian with C.A.S.T.s 500 kn (110,000 lb.) hydraulic press.

2. Graduate Research Assistants Mike Johnson, Josh Rudd, and Jiameng Zeng working at C.A.S.T.

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LIGHT-WEIGHT BEAMS
C.A.S.T. has invented and developed various methods of forming cast-in-place and precast beams using simple fabric molds. The flexibility of these molds makes it easy to form efficient, variable-section beams that follow structural curves dictated by natural law. Our tests have produced fabriccast beams up to 12 metres in length from a single rectangular sheet of fabric.

3. A single rectangular sheet of geotextile fabric weighing less than 10 kg. can be used to form a 12-metre (40 ft.) beam. 4. 12-metre (40 ft.), variable section, double cantilever, reinforced concrete beam constructed at the Conforce Structures precast factory, Winnipeg, Canada. 5. Fabric formwork for a 5-metre (16.5 ft.) variable section T-beam, constructed by Ronnie Araya, 2004-2005 C.A.S.T. Visiting Researcher. 6. Prototype formwork rig for the 12-metre beam shown in images (4) and (7). 7. Volume of variable-section bending moment-shaped beam visually compared to a conventional rectangular beam of the same major dimensions.

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STRUCTURAL RESEARCH
BENDING MOMENT-SHAPED BEAMS
Beams shaped to the proportions and curves of their bending moment can be easily produced in flexible fabric molds. These variable-section beams behave differently from conventionally formed uniform-section rectangular beams. PhD engineering research at C.A.S.T. is studying the structural behaviour of these efficiently curved beams. Structural research on our fabric-formed beams is also being carried out in other universities around the world (see C.A.S.T. Research Network below).

1. Preparation of C.A.S.T. hydraulic actuator press for structural tests 2. The C.A.S.T. Building at night.

3. Fabric beam formwork rig developed for precast production 4. 5-metre variable section beam cast at the Lafarge precast factory, Winnipeg, Canada. 5. 5-metre variable section beam cast from image 3 formwork at the Lafarge precast factory, Winnipeg, Canada. 6. Physical testing at C.A.S.T. of a 5-metre fabric-cast beam. 7. The fabric formwork for a 5-metre beam weighs only 3 kg and costs less than $10 (US).

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1. C.A.S.T. Laboratory production floor seen from the mezzanine level. 2. Architecture students Sean Radford and Paul Rajotte work out beam formwork designs in model form prior to full-scale trials.

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FABRIC-CAST TRUSSES
C.A.S.T. has developed a new method of constructing low-cost molds for reinforced concrete trusses. Flat sheets of fabric, stretched over simple rigid frames, are used as the mold wall, allowing the formation of efficient truss designs that can dramatically reduce dead weight and concrete volumes.

3. Prototype formwork for a 4-metre cast truss, testing different fabrics on either half 4. 2-metre prestressed plaster models of cast truss designs. 5. 4-metre reinforced concrete truss hanging above its mold parts: a simple plywood base covered by a rectangle of fabric prestressed to form the mold wall.

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1. Public reviews of student work at C.A.S.T. 2. Full-scale tests of Bulge Wall column construction at C.A.S.T.

BATCH COLUMN
C.A.S.T. invented this column formwork method specifically for use in low-capital building cultures where concrete is handmixed in small batches. This column formwork uses an absolute minimum of material to contain the volume of a single batch of hand-mixed concrete. Columns are formed by sequential pours using these small, reusable formwork sections.

3. Illustration of construction method used to place wet concrete above a previous cast. 4. Diagram of how small pieces of fabric are used to sequentially form a tall column. 5. Model of a concrete column constructed of stacked, small volume pours.

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BULGE WALLS

1. C.A.S.T. at night, showing plaster model casts.

This technology was invented to allow builders to construct fabric-formed walls without having to learn entirely new skills or techniques. This technology recombines ordinary materials, tools, and techniques that are standard in contemporary cast-in-place concrete construction. Using a geotextile fabric form-liner installed in standard plywood wall formwork, this method provides architectural and geometrical freedom by taking advantage of the flexibility of the fabric liner within the rigid limits set by the plywood wall forms.

2. Plaster model of a cast-in-place bulge wall 3. Detail of an opening and pilasters in a plaster bulge wall model. 4. Full-scale bulge wall for a new sports facility at the Open City in Ritoque Chile, by Mark West, David Jolly, Victoria Jolly, and Miquel Equem 5. Detail of openings and pilasters in a plaster bulge wall model.

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1. Engineering PhD candidate Fariborz Hashemian constructing 4-metre test beams at C.A.S.T. 2. Concert at C.A.S.T. by the Montreal-based saxophone quartet, Quasar.

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BULGE WALL COLUMNS

Columns with unprecedented sculptural and structural shapes can be easily formed using standard plywood wall formwork with a fabric liner. Block-outs within the wall form set the profile of the column along one axis, while the fabrics deflections produce beautiful and efficient variable section forms.

3. Bulge Wall type column design constructed at the Open City, Ritoque Chile, and Winnipeg, Canada. 4. Sketch illustrating how standard plywood wall forms are used to cast bulge wall column shapes 5. Plaster model of a buttressed bulge wall column 6. Plaster models of braced columns, designed to support compression vaults while providing resistance to horizontal thrust.

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1. Electronic music performance at C.A.S.T by Composer Eliot Britton. 2. Solo cello concert by Danish cellist Jakob Kullberg. 3. Electronic music improvisations on the table saw.

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VAULTS

C.A.S.T. has developed a method of prefabricating funicular compression vaults. This ancient structural strategy offers much higher efficiency than reinforced concrete beams and slabs, particularly in high dead load applications (for example with green roofs). This efficiency can help reduce the volume of concrete and steel consumed in construction. A hanging fabric sheet is used to produce a funicular mold for precast thinshell production using either fibre-reinforced or steel-reinforced concrete. This method allows the economical production and industrialization of compression structures.

4. Fiber-reinforced, funicular, thin-shell compression vaults produced from fabric-cast mold. Constructed by architecture students Cory Leniuk, Melissa Sarrasin, and Scott Staniul with assistance from Gerry de Roquigny at the Lafarge precast factory, Winnipeg, Canada. 5. Students setting up the hanging geotextile sheet used to fabricate the compression shell mold in image (4).

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1. Audience for a musical performance at C.A.S.T. 2. Full-scale fabric mold rig being developed and prepared.

MASONRY

C.A.S.T. is also home to research and education in structural masonry construction. Projects in this area include studies of thin-shell timbrel (catalan vault) dome construction, and a new use of flexible formwork techniques applied to the prefabrication of efficient funicular masonry compression vaults.

3. Catalan timbrel masonry vault being constructed by architecture students with Prof. Natalija Subotincic. 4. Prefabricated 6-metre (20 ft) funicular brick compression vault designed and constructed by C.A.S.T.based architecture thesis student Neil Prakash, with assistance from Fariborz Hashemian, Ronnie Araya, and Brian Gebhardt 5. Bricks suspended on a flexible mesh form themselves into a perfect funicular curve. 6. Master mason Brian Gebhardt and students mortar joints in the vault at Red River College, Winnipeg, Canada.

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1. Graduate Research Assistants building full-scale prototype formwork. 2. Architecture students Jon Reid, Jasbir Singh Bhamra, and Paul Rajotte removing formwork from a model beam cast. 3. Graduate Research Assistants Leif Friggstad and Kyle Martens designing thin-shell wall panel formwork using model rigs.

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SCULPTURE

Our research is producing new realms of constructed form through simple combinations of inexpensive materials, tools, and techniques. As in natural systems, we find physical simplicity producing sculptural and geometric richness with a refined structural elegance. By following this path of simplicity, a complex new language of form is emerging and waiting to be explored.

4. Fabric-cast bollards by Mark West for Festival Plaza at Ottawa City Hall, Ottawa, Canada. 5. Fabric-cast sculpture by Mark West. 6. Fabric-cast column designs by Mark West. 7. Fabric-cast bollard by Mark West.

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C.A.S.T. NETWORKS AND OUTREACH

C.A.S.T is dedicated to expanding access to the open source technologies we are inventing and developing. Our commitment to using simple and inexpensive materials, tools, and techniques makes these new technologies accessible to people living in both high and low-capital building cultures. C.A.S.T. is the centre of a growing network of associated academic and professional collaborations. Together we are exploring and developing new methods of construction that can reduce material consumption while opening up new realms of architectural and structural form for architects, engineers, artists, and builders.

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C.A.S.T. INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

LECTURES Invited lectures to present research findings at over twenty professional organizations and schools of architecture and engineering, and professional continuing education classes: CHILE, ENGLAND, MEXICO, SCOTLAND, TURKEY, KANSAS, MISSISSIPPI, NEW YORK, NEBRASKA, NORTH CAROLINA, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, TEXAS, VERMONT, MONTREAL, WINNIPEG, VANCOUVER MAA Professional continuing education class (at CAST), RAIC / AIBC Professional continuing education class (VANCOUVER), Two invited lectures at RAIC annual National Conferences (WINNIPEG, VANCOUVER) WORKSHOPS Seven multi-day construction workshops to transfer CAST technology to schools of architecture in: MEXICO, CHILE, EDINBURGH, KANSAS, MONTREAL, VERMONT. Three Catalan Vault Masonry Workshops held at CAST (Canadian Masonry Research Institute) One Manitoba Association of Architects (MAA) professional continuing education workshop

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C.A.S.T. PUBLICATION AND EXHIBITION

EXHIBITIONS CAST architectural research findings in fabric formwork (models, photographs of built work, drawings) have been included in gallery and museum shows internationally: CANADA: The Eric Arthur Gallery, University of Toronto ENGLAND: Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Gallery, London USA: National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. FRANCE: Muse des Arts et Mtiers, Paris PUBLICATIONS - MAGAZINES/JOURNALS CAST fabric formwork research has been widely published in professional and industry journals and magazines in eight countries, on four continents, and in four languages. 8 articles authored at CAST (published in CANADA, USA, TURKEY, GERMANY) 1 article co-authored with collaborating engineers (POLAND AND LIBYA) (Published in UK) 14 articles about CAST research written by others (published in CANADA, USA, U.K., FRANCE, INDIA, CHILE, ARABIA)

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C.A.S.T. RESEARCH NETWORK

ACADEMIC RESEARCH FOLLOWING C.A.S.T. INVENTIONS CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF VALPARAISO School of Architecture and Design: Full scale fabric-formed concrete construction at the Open City UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH School of Architecture: fabric formwork design/research; full scale construction; PhD engineering research: fabric-formed beams UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON School of Architecture: fabric formwork design, research and proof of concept construction UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON The Bartlett School of Architecture: PhD work in fabric-formed architecture. DELFT TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY: Masters of engineering thesis work, optimization of fabric-formed beams. UNIVERSITY OF BATH Deptartment of Architecture and Civil Engineering: Masters thesis in fabric-formed beams OTHER RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS UMI ARCHITECTURE ATELIER (TOKYO, JAPAN) Architect Kenzo Unno (inventor of fabric-formed wall systems), VISITING RESEARCHERS Two six-month residences at C.A.S.T by visiting researchers, architect Ronnie Araya (VALPARAISO, CHILE) and Lancelot Coar (PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A). Two-week Residence by Architect Ryan Coover (AUSTIN TEXAS). One-week residence by architects Csar Marrufo and Ral Cardea from the Universidad Autnoma de Yucatn (MXICO)

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C.A.S.T.
THE CENTRE FOR ARCHITECTURAL UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA STRUCTURES AND TECHNOLOGY FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE

Professor Mark West Director, C.A.S.T. Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture PHONE: C.A.S.T. Building FAX:

MAIL: University of Manitoba Faculty of Architecture Room 201, J.A. Russell Building Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 CANADA http://www.umanitoba.ca/cast_building/
Printed on paper from well managed forests with 30% post consumer waste recycled content.

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Research Assistant Chris Wiebe thinks things over.

(204) 474-7427 (204) 474-7533