Additive manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly advancing method of manufacturing that enables an unprecedented level of design freedom, especially for small to medium sized parts. As such, AM can provide architects a greater design freedom in the realization of freeform architecture, particularly when it comes to the design of nodes. The Department of Architectural Engineering + Technology at TU Delft (Delft University of Technology) and Jansen Steel Systems – with the supporting Partners Knippers Helbig Advanced Engineering and gmp Architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners – set up a design competition to take a closer look at how additive manufacturing can help improving the design flexibility of existing facade systems.
Free-standing structural design competition
48 students of the masters level “Technoledge Facade Design” course in the Building Technology track at TU Delft took part in the competition in which they were asked to design a small freeform steel & glass pavilion. The pavilion design had to be based on a clear design concept that should be reflected both in the overall geometry of the pavilion and its detailed design. The students also had to consider key aspects of facade design and construction (design, performance, assembly, fabrication, safety, sustainability, cost etc.).
The result
All designs from the competition showed that facade systems like the Jansen VISS facade can offer architects a high level of design freedom. The jury – consisting of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Knaack and Lia Tramontini (PhD Candidate), TU Delft; Sebastian Thieme (Head of Development), Jansen AG; Dr. Matthias Oppe (Director) and Roman Schieber (Associate Director), Knippers Helbig; and Martin Glass (Director), gmp Architects – voted on the best design, based on the design concept, design complexity, innovation, and use of additive manufacturing: The design by Cas Verhoeven, Tim Schumann, Tong Wu and Trishita Chatterjee won the first prize.
We would like to thank TU Delft for their great support in the organisation of the competition, excellently coordinated and supervised by Arie Bergsma, Frank Schnater and Lia Tramontini. We would also like to thank the jury members and supporting partners for their commitment and valuable contribution and last but not least the students from the masters level facades course in the Building Technology track for sharing their inspiration and making this competition possible.
