Design, construction and strengthening of shell structures made by folding

Modern high performance materials like Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) offer new possibilities for the construction of very filigree and lightweight structures. Prefabricated plate elements can be transformed into complex three-dimensional shapes by folding without a laborious construction of curved formworks. In order to exploit the design space within the envisioned technology a method was proposed involving form-finding, simulation of folding process, and production concepts, as well as an assessment of structural performance. Since inspiration for this approach was derived from the ancient art of paper folding origami (ori=folding; gami = paper), we call the method oricreate and its application to concrete oricrete (ori- and concrete). By using the design and manufacturing methods, several prototypes of folded plate structures have been realized and tested with sizes up to 2,4 m x 3 m. The design and manufacturing process of folded structures and experimental investigations are described and methods for strengthening proposed.