THERMOPLASTIC CONCRETE CASTING
From Kristen Gandy's portfolio spreads, this is an image of the final exhibition of the full scale concrete wall cast using the methods researched.
Intro portfolio spread from Kristen Gandy. Images from the final exhibition of the wall and chairs cast using the researched method.
Drawings from the design of the wall which was cast using the thermoplastic mold and GFRC mix to form the finished full scale concrete wall at the exhibition in Liberty Annex.
Spread from Kristen Gandy's portfolio. Diagram of casting process for the thermo-plastic felt molds and fabrication of the CNC plywood molds.
As an initial exploration of the Thermoplastic Casting, we used two recognizable chairs and created molds and cast them in the same manner as the wall panels which followed the making of the chairs.
Project Exhibited at the 2017 Taubman College Liberty Annex Research Through Making Exhibition
"Thermoplastic Concrete Casting explores formwork making and concrete casting with thermoplastic textile. Casting in concrete typically requires extensive formwork that takes time, material, and a tremendous amount of labor to produce.
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This novel way of creating formwork for casting eliminates heavy rigid molds and scaffoldings for support. Instead, using sartorial techniques borrowed from tailoring and patterning in clothing production, pliable non-woven thermoplastic textile is cut and felted together (a process of needle punching), and then heat-stiffened to rigid form, ready for glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) casting.
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The project explores the relationship between form, material behavior, and performance of both non-woven thermoplastics as formwork with complex geometries and concrete casting to create thin-shell, materially efficient structures."
-Ng, McGee
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PROJECT TEAM
Leads: Tsz Yan Ng, Wesley McGee
Collaborators:
Kristen Gandy, Drew Bradford, Layth Mahdi, Scott Chriss, Simon Anton, Asa Peller