Segmented Timber Shells for Circular Construction: Relocation, Structural Assessment, and Robotic Fabrication of a Modular, Lightweight Timber Structure

Segmented timber shells present a novel building system that utilizes modular, planar building components to create lightweight free-form structures in architecture. Recent advancements in the research field of segmented timber shells pursue, among others, two fundamentally opposing research objecti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Simon Bechert, Simon Aicher, Lyudmila Gorokhova, Laura Balangé, Monika Göbel, Volker Schwieger, Achim Menges, Jan Knippers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Buildings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/11/1857
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Segmented timber shells present a novel building system that utilizes modular, planar building components to create lightweight free-form structures in architecture. Recent advancements in the research field of segmented timber shells pursue, among others, two fundamentally opposing research objectives. 1. The modularity of their building components facilitates the reuse of such structures in response to a changing built environment. 2. Advanced developments aim at establishing segmented timber shells as permanent building structures for sustainable architecture. This paper addresses the first research objective through the successful relocation of the BUGA Wood Pavilion in the context of the proposed methodology of Co-Design for circular construction. The methods and results involve integrative design and engineering processes and advanced quality assessment methods, including structural, geodetic, and physical properties for modular timber constructions. The BUGA Wood Pavilion serves as a building demonstrator for the presented research on segmented shells as lightweight, reusable, and durable timber structures.
ISSN:2075-5309