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ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5

Alternative Building Construction Systems
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction
Geodesic Structures are founded on the principle that the triangle is an inherently stable form,
independent of size, and that a triangular framework held together in tension enables the creation of
structures that are lightweight but profoundly strong.
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Brief History

1919 when German engineer Dr. Walther Bauersfeld decided to install projector lights inside a
stationary dome to build a more massive planetarium for Zeiss.

Bauersfeld needed a more massive dome to install projectors inside. So he built his first model at 52 ft
(16 m) in diameter, resembling an icosahedron, a polyhedron with 20 faces.
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Brief History

1953, Buckminster Fuller was asked to use his new design in renovating Ford Motor
Company’s visitors center in Michigan, aka the Rotunda. Although the 10-story building constructed of
plastic and steel was an ode to futurism in those years, it was not designed to support a traditional
dome’s massive weight.
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Construction Methodologies (sample project)

1953, Buckminster Fuller was asked to use his new design in renovating Ford Motor
Company’s visitors center in Michigan, aka the Rotunda. Although the 10-story building constructed of
plastic and steel was an ode to futurism in those years, it was not designed to support a traditional
dome’s massive weight.
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Construction Methodologies (sample project)
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Construction Methodologies (sample project)
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Joints/Connection samples
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Construction Methodologies (sample project)
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Samples
Sample 1 (source: Archdaily)
Students from the Centre for Human Habitat and Alternative Technology (CHHAT) claimed the
prize with their adaptable and lightweight modular domes, made from natural, local or recycled
materials.
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Samples
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Samples
TOPIC 09: GEODESIC STRUCTURES
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
Geodesic Construction: Samples
Sample 2: (source: Archdaily)
Danish designers Tejlgaard & Jepsen are in the process of permanently reconstructing the People's
Meeting Dome as a gift from BL (Denmark's Public Housing) and Lokale & Anlægsfonden to the Island
of Bornholm and the city of Allinge.
TOPIC 10: 3-D PRINTING IN CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Printing
• is the extrusion of special mixture, layer by layer, according to a given three-dimensional computer model.

• Pre-prepared mixture consisting of cement, filler, plasticizer and other additives is loaded into the hopper of
the device and fed to the printhead.

• The mixture is applied to the surface of the site or previously printed layers.
TOPIC 10: 3-D PRINTING IN CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Printing

Advantages Disadvantages
• Faster and accurate construction • Reduced employee numbers in the
• Reduced labor cost industry
• Reduced waste generation – • A limited number of materials can be used,
components can be printed to • Transportation
order during the construction • Storage of the printer on site
phase; those that are not used • Higher risks
can be recycled • Conventional product manufacturing
• Reduced health and safety risks companies and plant renting companies
• Environmentally friendly could suffer
• Additional time may be required on site
TOPIC 10: 3-D PRINTING IN CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Printing: Concrete
TOPIC 10: 3-D PRINTING IN CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Printing: Concrete
WinSun’s 3D-Printed Apartment Block, Jiangsu Province, China

Chinese company WinSun

Decoration Design Engineering
Co. is no stranger to testing the
limits of 3D printing. Having
already built 10 3D-printed
houses in under 24 hours, it
quickly gained the distinction of
building the world’s tallest 3D-
printed structure, a 5-story
apartment block it completed
back in 2015.
TOPIC 10: 3-D PRINTING IN CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Printing: Concrete
A two-storey office in Dubai.

Robotic construction company Apis Cor has used its technology to build the world's largest 3D-printed building,
a two-storey office in Dubai.
TOPIC 10: 3-D PRINTING IN CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Printing: Steel
A two-storey office in Dubai.

The ultimate aim of Foster + Partners was to produce a steel cantilevered beam that could demonstrate
the possibility of integrating 3D printed steel components in buildings.
TOPIC 11: 3-D VOLUMETRIC CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Volumetric Construction: Production Process

• Also known as Modular construction,

• Involves the production of 3-

Dimensional Units in controlled factory
conditions prior to transportation to
site.

• Modules can be brought to the site in a

variety of forms, all ready for assembly.
TOPIC 11: 3-D VOLUMETRIC CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Volumetric Construction: Production Process
TOPIC 11: 3-D VOLUMETRIC CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Volumetric Construction: Production Process

The building's components are constructed in a factory before assembly on site.

TOPIC 11: 3-D VOLUMETRIC CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Volumetric Construction: Production Process
TOPIC 11: 3-D VOLUMETRIC CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Volumetric Construction: Production Process
TOPIC 11: 3-D VOLUMETRIC CONSTRUCTION
ARC1418: BUILDING TECHNOLOGY 5 (Alternative Building Construction Systems)
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BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CLUSTER
3-D Volumetric Construction: Production Process