Reports: A Robotically Fabricated Pavilion Consisting of Glass Fibres and Carbon Fibres
- Frank Kaltenbach
The translucent structure of the ICD/ITKE research pavilion, designed by the architectural faculty of the University of Stuttgart, stood on the campus from October 2012 to January 2013. From afar, the whitish glass-fibre surfaces – consisting of hyperbolic paraboloids – gleamed between the anthracite-coloured supports that touched the ground only at their tips. The structure was based on the exo-skeleton of a lobster. In collaboration with scientists at the University of Tübingen, the architectural students investigated the principles underlying the form and material make-up of this creature, then applied the information – with the aid of the Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering in Denkendorf – to new forms of architectural construction.
