Timberfabric: Applying Textile Principles on a Building Scale

In general, the intention is to use initially plane timber panels
as the starting material. During the process of assembly these
become double curved, the imposed deformations lead to
initial stresses, caused by bending and torsion moments, and
specific questions arise for which quantitative answers can
be determined. Which radius is required? Which curvature
can be accepted? An empirical approach, using a series of
physical models, is applied to address such questions. The
further structural investigations necessary are based on these
preliminary observations.
In this context, the question of scale is essential. Various
questions related to the material used arise while proceeding
with such scale jumps from small models to building scale. It
is therefore important to obtain more knowledge about such
scale factors and how they affect the spatial and mechanical
behaviour of structures. It has been observed that at large scale,
the prototypes are subject to a higher flexibility and dynamic
sensibility. It is possible to define a specific, dynamic calculation
for a specific structure at a given scale. But it has not yet been
possible to define parameters that describe the optimisation
of these structures through different scales while keeping
every proportion the same. Furthermore, the underlying rules,
determining how such transitions occur or when they occur,
are not yet identified. The study of this fascinating topic
involves a very precise recording of the changing behaviour
and interaction of the basic elements of structural timber fabric
across the different scales. A profound examination of this
phenomenon is crucial.
The first set of observations that need to be made are
systematic comparisons between the initial structure and
the deformed structure for every given structural proposal or
geometry. Geometrical and mechanical observations need to
be collected. The deformation process creates a specific stress
situation, which can be described as ‘initial stress’. Those
parameters can be measured by means of computer simulation,
where the deformation process is modelled. The initial stress
situation can be established via measures taken directly on the
physical prototype by stress-sensing elements. Once the initial
stress situation is known, various load cases can be performed
giving more insight into the structural performance of a given
<strong>Timberfabric</strong>. The interaction of the curved elements occurs
in such a way that it confers a specific rigidity to this type of
structure even though the basic element seems to be quite
smooth. In pilot studies of prototypes, particular structural
behaviours have been observed, such as an increase of the
rigidity of a given woven section while applying a load to it.
Here, the section’s inertia increased during the loading process
because of the structure’s capacity to be deformed. Such
observations open very exciting perspectives for the utility of
structural optimisation processes.
The Imagined and the Material
Architectural production over the past decade has been marked
by a strong affection for the image. The seductive aesthetics
of digital architectural modelling and visualisation have often
dominated over attention towards materiality and building
construction. Ambivalent images were, and still are, produced
with digital tools. They display architectural visions that
neglect the constraints of the physical laws and the constraints
associated with building construction. 1 Yet we know that
architecture is not, and cannot be, just an image. It has become
evident that such proposals are extremely difficult to realise.
It has also become evident that the potential of the computer
as a planning and design tool has its limitations. In the same
time, innovative applications of non-digital means of design
have come to provide interesting alternatives. 2 The approach
applied in the IBOIS research goes beyond the aesthetics of an
imagined reality. Materiality is actively involved in the design
process. The <strong>Textile</strong> Module is an intriguing first result and
encourages continuing the adopted direction. Its aesthetic
and structural qualities have raised a wide range of questions,
many of which are still to be addressed. There appears to be
something remarkable in the interaction of the material and the
formal qualities that produces a distinguished quality of design.
It is not clear whether the topological or tectonic properties
are a satisfying answer to this. It is perhaps the elevation of
materiality to a level of prominence in design and design
research that can explain this intellectual resonance and its
implications for architecture as a material practice. 1
Notes
1. This was, for instance, the case with an image related to Dagmar Richter’s
DR_D lab project, The Living Museum: Pimp my Architecture (2005),
published on the cover of AD Architextiles (Vol 76, No 6, 2006). Here, a
highly appealing image is presented, but one cannot understand how what is
shown could possibly be built, or materialised.
2. A very interesting approach to this was proposed by Mark West in his
article ‘Thinking With Matter’, published in AD Protoarchitecture (Vol 78, No
4, 2008).
Text © 2010 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Images © Markus Hudert, EPFL IBOIS
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