Research emerging from the AA Visiting School Istanbul by Milad Showkatbakhsh, Elif Erdine and Alvaro Lopez Rodriguez has been published by the Symposium on Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design 2020.

This paper describes a novel process towards the application of multi-objective optimization as the form-finding process for the integration of computational design, fabrication, and construction sequences. The design and construction of a doubly curved large-scale prototype made of textile reinforced GRC shotcrete with a robotically fabricated in situ reinforcement system serves as the case study for the proposed methodology. Global geometry form-finding process takes into consideration the location and geometrical properties of the in-situ reinforcement rebar system, robotic rod bending constraints, structural performance, and functional objectives.

These criteria are integrated through the application of a multi-objective optimization method in order to formulate multiple trade-off solutions that possess multiple constraints (fitness objectives) which are primarily in conflict with each other and are intended towards automation in fabrication. The primary contribution of the research is the demonstration of a multi-objective optimization methodology that incorporates geometrical form-finding, material and fabrication constraints, and FEA as design drivers during the early stages of design. This optimization method can be further extended and utilized across a multitude of scales in order to save energy, materials, and cost in architectural projects.

You can watch the presentation of the paper now