Funktionales Konstruieren – Rapid Technologien für Architektur und Baukonstruktion

Abstract

Not only in the medical, aviation and automotive industry, the generative processes are being looked upon as increasingly important production processes. But also the (construction) industry is realizing more and more the chances and opportunities, that open up with these technologies for different designs and details. The Investigation on the changes and impact of these new technologies to the design process and to the application in architecture and building construction is focus of the research activities conducted by Dipl.-Ing. Holger Strauss, at both, the Technical University of Delft, Netherlands, and at the University of Applied Sciences – Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe - in Detmold, Germany. At both locations, the innovative potential of the topic supports the interdisciplinary cooperation between different faculties and fields of study. For students at both locations seminars and advanced studying opportunities are given by scientific paper work and final papers. The first extensive research project on this issue - "Influence of Additives Processes on the development of facade constructions" - was established 2008 in cooperation with the internationally operating company Kawneer-Alcoa in the research focus “ConstructionLab” at the Detmold School of Architecture and Interior Design. Focus of the project is initially on the efforts of evaluating possibilities for the production of components with additive processes to complement the standard products in system facades. The use of Additive Processes and high-tech CAD-CAM applications require a new kind of design. Not to design for production anymore, but to design for function - "Functional Constructing". In addition to the enrichment of research and teaching at the universities through a practical and goal-oriented task, all results complement the promotion of Holger Strauss at the Technical University in Delft at the Chair “Design of Construction” of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Knaack. The paper describes the development of this research in teaching and in specific projects.