Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
The Department of Engineering’s in-house design team worked with the Automating Concrete Construction (ACORN) researchers to develop a modular “pin-bed” solution that uses an array of computer-controlled pistons (actuators) that move vertically to support and deform a flexible formwork of composite strips and a fabric membrane to create a mould for concrete.
Thanks to this mould, the team can cast concrete shell segments, whether identical or different, with a single mould. This system allows mass-customisation and significantly reduces the waste and carbon content due to the necessary formwork of these efficient but more complex to build curved structures.
The Department of Engineering’s in-house design team worked with the Automating Concrete Construction (ACORN) researchers to develop a modular “pin-bed” solution that uses an array of computer-controlled pistons (actuators) that move vertically to support and deform a flexible formwork of composite strips and a fabric membrane to create a mould for concrete.
Thanks to this mould, the team can cast concrete shell segments, whether identical or different, with a single mould. This system allows mass-customisation and significantly reduces the waste and carbon content due to the necessary formwork of these efficient but more complex to build curved structures.
