Abstract

PhD thesis by Johan Bettum.

This research concerns architecture and fibrous and textile reinforcement systems in polymer composites. It examines the material geometry of the fibrous systems and relates this to the design process as well as the theory of tectonics.

The research is based on a broad range of thematic considerations and argues that with the scalar complexity of the textile geometry and the power of contemporary computational techniques, architects are currently in the position to tap into an enormous material reservoir that the material systems offer for architecture. Both the structure and the aesthetic expression of architectural form can be affected by the make-up of the fibrous, textile systems. This would have a significant theoretical as well as a practical impact on architecture.

The co-ordination of designing at different scales with the material systems transforms the conventional design process. This is discussed theoretically and practically within the paradigm of synthesis and contributes to a new definition of the theory of tectonic since its traditional version cannot account for how fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composites can be used in architecture. The thesis concludes with a discussion of this theory and a reformulation of how it must be articulated were it to have any relevance for contemporary architecture.

About the author:
Johan Bettum is a professor of architecture and the programme director of the Architecture Class in the Städelschule, Frankfurt am Main. His main interests reside in the intersection between materials, geometry and advanced digital modelling. He is widely published on topics related to his doctoral research which also form the basis of the architectural projects in his practice Archi|Globe.