beyond bending 5013_1464606144.jpg

Armadillo Vault - An extreme discrete stone shell

Block P., Van Mele T., Rippmann M., DeJong M., Ochsendorf J., Escobedo M. and Escobedo D.
DETAIL
2016

Comprised of 399 individually cut limestone pieces, unreinforced and assembled without mortar, the Armadillo Vault spans 16 m with a minimum thickness of only 5 cm. Its funicular geometry allows it to stand in pure compression, while tension ties equilibrate the form. Starting from the same structural and constructional principles as historic stone cathedrals, this sophisticated form emerged from novel computational design, analysis and fabrication methods combined with masonry craftsmanship.

BibTeX

@article{Block2016,
    author  = "Block, P. and Van Mele, T. and Rippmann, M. and DeJong, M. and Ochsendorf, J. and Escobedo, M. and Escobedo, D.",
    title   = "Armadillo Vault - An extreme discrete stone shell",
    journal = "DETAIL",
    year    = "2016",
    volume  = "10",
    number  = "",
    pages   = "940-942",
    month   = "October",
    doi     = "",
    note    = "Issue on 'Roof structures'",
}

Related publications

Block P., Van Mele T., Rippmann M. and Paulson N.Beyond Bending - Reimagining Compression Shells,Edition DETAIL,Munich,2017 (October).
Block P., Rippmann M., Van Mele T. and Escobedo D.The Armadillo Vault: Balancing computation and traditional craft,FABRICATE 2017,A. Menges, B. Sheil, R. Glynn and M. Skavara (editors),: 286-293,UCL PressLondon,2017 (April).
Block P., Van Mele T., Liew A., DeJong M., Escobedo D. and Ochsendorf J.Structural design, fabrication and construction of the Armadillo Vault,The Structural Engineer,96(5): 10-20,2018 (May).
Rippmann M., Van Mele T., Popescu M., Augustynowicz E., Méndez Echenagucia T., Calvo Barentin C., Frick U. and Block P.The Armadillo Vault: Computational design and digital fabrication of a freeform stone shell,Advances in Architectural Geometry 2016,: 344-363,2016 (September).
Van Mele T., Mehrotra A., Mendez Echenagucia T., Frick U., Augustynowicz E., Ochsendorf J., DeJong M. and Block P.Form finding and structural analysis of a freeform stone vault,Proceedings of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) Symposium 2016,K. Kawaguchi, M. Ohsaki, T. Takeuchi (editors),Tokyo, Japan,2016 (September).
Calvo Barentin C., Rippmann M., Van Mele T. and Block P.Computer-controlled fabrication of a freeform stone vault,Proceedings of the IASS Symposium 2016,K. Kawaguchi, M. Ohsaki, T. Takeuchi (editors),Tokyo, Japan,2016 (September).
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