Design and fabrication with fibre-reinforced polymers in architecture: A case for complex geometry

Arielle Blonder*, Yasha Jacob Grobman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Fibre-reinforced polymers (FRPs) are a family of strong and lightweight composite materials combining fibres and polymers. FRPs are widely used in the aviation, naval and automotive industries for components that require a high ratio of strength to weight and durability. Despite some pioneering experimental architectural applications in the 1960s, it is only in recent years that a growing interest in FRP elements is evident in the architectural field. The following paper critically reviews the current use of FRP in architecture and proposes a framework and a method to design and fabricate freeform architectural elements and structures from FRP without the need for using moulds. The proposed method is examined in a case study design and fabrication of a shading structure for beach areas. The case study results are discussed and conclusions are presented for future developments of the proposed method for the use of composite materials in architecture.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)257-268
Number of pages12
JournalArchitectural Science Review
Volume59
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 3 Jul 2016
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Keywords

  • Composite materials
  • Computer-aided fabrication
  • Fibre-reinforced polymers
  • Form finding
  • Material system

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