Computation for a new age of Resource AWare architecture: waste-sourced and fast-growing bio-based materials

Introduction

This project proposes a breakthrough resource model for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) fostering a steep change in the way we design and fabricate our built environment. It aims to overcome the fundamental limits that the natural variability sets within bio-based material streams for the green transformation of the industry.

Focus Areas

With a central focus on the alternative materials of waste-sourced and fast-growing materials, RAW assembles world-leading researchers and entrepreneurs in various fields:

• Material sourcing (UIBK, LTU, OMTRE)
• Non-destructive material characterisation (LTU, DTU)
• Non-prescriptive computational design
• Adaptive fabrication (KADK, USTUT)

Objectives

This unique consortium aims to establish the foundation of a novel resource model for AEC by:

1. Linking design, analysis, and fabrication through an innovative computational infrastructure.
2. Embracing the variability of resources.
3. Minimising waste and enabling circularity.
4. Increasing carbon storage in buildings.
5. Allowing the uptake of currently disregarded bio-based materials in AEC.
6. Paving the way for new aesthetic expressions and tectonics in architecture.