ICD AGGREGATE PAVILION 2018

In inanimate nature, large masses of granular substances, such as sand or gravel, are in constant processes of formation through perpetual cycles of erosion and accretion. What if architecture was to emulate this behaviour and allow for its own continuous reconfiguration?

The ICD Aggregate Pavilion 2018 presents the latest results of 10 years of research into designed granular materials for architecture. It constitutes the first fully enclosed architectural space entirely constructed from designed granules, which lie only in loose frictional contact. Such unbound granular materials show the unique property to obtain both the stable character of a solid material and the rapid reconfigurability of a fluid. If custom-designed particles are deployed, granular materials can form self-supporting spatial enclosures while remaining fully reconfigurable and reusable. 70.000 star-like, white particles are made from recycled plastics. They are poured by a rapidly deployable, large scale robot system. The pavilion demonstrates how designed granular materials open up a new perspective for a design paradigm of productive forms of de- and re-stabilization and, thus, an architecture that can be rapidly deployed and reconfigured, as well as eventually removed and reused.

For a detailed description and more images please view:

https://www.icd.uni-stuttgart.de/projects/icd-aggregate-pavilion-2018/

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PROJECT TEAM

ICD Institute for Computational Design and Construction
Karola Dierichs, Achim Menges

Research Assistants: Christian Arias, Bahar Al Bahar, Elaine Bonavia, Federico Forestiero, Pedro Giachini, Shir Katz, Alexandre Mballa-Ekobena, Leyla Yunis, Jacob Zindroski

Cable Robot: Ondrej Kyjanek, Martin Loucka

Manufacturing: Wilhelm Weber GmbH & Co. KG

PROJECT SUPPORT

GETTYLAB
ITASCA Consulting Inc.