Designing with Scarcity: Algorithmic Workflows for Structural Optimization Using Reclaimed Timber

Abstract

This thesis addresses the pressing need to consider timber as a scarce resource and mitigate its overconsumption in the built environment and by exploring algorithmic workflows for the structural optimization of buildings using reclaimed timber. Grounded in principles of circularity, metabolism and tectonics, the research claims that reclaimed materials are often seen as a constraint, but can be leveraged as a driver for architectural design. The core of the methodology is centered around a parallel approach of the development and application of a computational tool on design cases, informing each iteration of the tool through evaluation of the design. This tool, operating within the Rhino Grasshopper environment and utilizing Karamba3D for structural analysis and Wallacei for multi-objective optimization, integrates heuristic and meta-heuristic algorithms for stock matching and geometric refinement. The efficacy and implications of this approach were investigated through two distinct design studies, with use of reclaimed timber from the mink farm industry: the renovation of a residential structure and the conceptual redesign of a large-scale architectural project. The residential renovation demonstrated the tool's capacity to inform the design process by suggesting incremental changes in the geometry in order to achieve full reclaimed timber utilization, effectively translating the "form follows availability" paradigm into a tangible design outcome. The second experiment tested the tool on a larger structure of increased complexity, this concluded in the lengthening of computation time, to the detriment of the amount of design iterations. The thesis concludes that algorithmic workflows offer a viable pathway to integrate reclaimed timber into architectural design, transforming material limitations into opportunities for resource-efficient, spatially considered solutions. While the developed tool provides a proof-of-concept for designing with scarcity, its broader adoption necessitates further advancements in data management for reclaimed materials, refined user interface and joint adaptation to bridge the gap between innovative research and practical application in fostering a more materially intelligent built future.

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A master thesis from Aalborg University

Designing with Scarcity: Algorithmic Workflows for Structural Optimization Using Reclaimed Timber