Advances in Free-Form Masonry

This model of a free-form compression-only vault has been build using rapid prototyping. It stands just by gravity and friction. It is part of a research project of the BLOCK Research Group at the ETH Zurich. Two publications describe details about the structural models and the design process.


Form and force diagrams in plane, the force distribution in the network, and the form of the network in 3d.
The form-finding process is based on TNA, a method developed by Philippe Block.




Pictures and movie (c) by BLOCK Research Group

New Evolutions in ZipShape

Christoph Schindler, co-founder of schindlersalmerón, develops the principle of ZipShape since 2007, in order to build curved elements from cnc-manufactured plain material without molds.


An element consists of two differently slotted panels that only interlock if bent to the desired curvature.


A grasshopper definition worked out during a workshop at the CITA Copenhagen shows the dependency between slot geometry and global curvature.


The newest development allows the fabrication of developable twisted surfaces.


This principle has been applied to a sculpture produced and tested at the Bern University of Applied Sciences in Biel.