COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITALLY FABRICATED MULTI-STOREY WOOD BUILDING SYSTEM
Current wood building systems are greatly dependent on rigid grids as ordering systems, which results in severe design limitations for open-plan, flexible spaces and bespoke architectural solutions. The main aim of this project is to address these architectural limitations through the development of a novel, genuinely digital wood building system, which enables the adoption of prefabricated timber construction in additional building typologies. This will integrate computational design, engineering, as well as building physics in tight relation with the respective fabrication strategies. The building system includes design and development of structural components as well as building services, insulation and cladding. Key characteristics of the building systems we strive for are grid-independency, biaxial spans and pointwise concentrated supports. This raises challenges for the structure, building physics and building services. Through the co-design of these aspects, together with the development of new joint systems, this research project will integrate and run hand-in-hand with novel concepts of cyber-physical on- and off-site production. In addition, it will consider developments of bio-based material systems adjustments and requirements of technical standards and legal frameworks and the reflection of novel design possibilities of IntCDC-based multi-storey timber buildings.
Research into novel, digital, modular wood building system to enable the adoption of prefabricated timber construction in additional building typologies. Research Project 3 “Multi-Storey Wood Building System”, within Research Network 1 “Multi-Storey Building Systems”, as part of the German Research Foundation (DFG) funded Cluster of Excellence “EXC 2120: IntCDC – Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture”, a member of the AdvanceAEC Research Network.
Image Credit: EXC 2120 - IntCDC