Output details

Invention of Prototyping Methodology and Architectural Installation

Glass reinforced concrete facia panels for 185 apartments -

a £0.76 million residential development for Barratt East London in conjunction with GRCUK Ltd

The innovative processes of the project were presented in outline at the 16th Congress of the Glass Reinforced Concrete Association (GRCA) in Istanbul q.v.

http://www.grca.co.uk/congress/programme.asp - B. Faulding

20+ GRCUK employees were engaged for 6 months on production and Barratt East London have sold all 180+ premium apartments, clad in maple leaf concrete.

As a consequence of the wide media & trade coverage relating to the façade of the Nottingham Contemporary Arts Centre, the University was invited to investigate the translation of the method initiated for pre-cast concrete to glass-reinforced concrete (GRC). A digital methodology had to be developed for the creation of high definition figurative formliners (moulds), to comply with the parameters of the production of a non-structural material used in architectural panels, patterned in high-resolution low relief - and in a seamless repeat.

The formula for the digital output was derived from an investigation which identified factors distilled from aspects of vintage textile design methodology. This research underpinned the evolution of a distinct aesthetic intention for using GRC in the project. The experimentation required a specific range of master formliner materials and subsequently on the means of creating large scale (max. 3mtrs x 1.5mtrs) latex formliner mats in endless & seamless pattern repeats for a variety of signature architectural components, such as balcony cladding, ingress facades and roofline headers.

The dynamic spray process of GRC demands a form-liner master that has a subtle bevelled transition from each relief image level to another. In the first stage it was necessary to present the manufacturer with a sample prototype that satisfied their production requirements and, those of the commissioners at Barratt and the architects at Glenn Howells and Hawkins Brown. The second stage demanded the resolution of the definitive master artefact and its derivative production masters in latex as a protoype. This stage required extensive liaison with GRCUK Ltd. and their technologists to incorporate the novel methods developed by research at the University with the replication system being carried out for the first time in house at GRCUK Ltd.