As well as carrying out my own physical modelling tests, I knew that I could also learn a lot about the fabric formwork process by looking to the few examples that there are of people and institutions testing this. One great resource that I found for this was the book 'Fabric Formwork', edited by Alan Chandler and Remo Pedreschi.
“To look is not enough – the pieces seem to demand touch.” ––– Fiona McLachlan, on the various fabric formwork concrete casts present around the University of Edinburgh architecture department
I can verify the sentiment being expressed in the above quotation, as I had the same experience whilst studying at Edinburgh during my undergraduate. I particularly remember this wall shown in the photo below, made of panels of many different types of fabric formwork experiment, which I used to walk past every day going to my 2nd year studios.
Wall of fabric formwork panels located in the University of Edinburgh architecture department
During my time at Edinburgh I also had Remo Pedreschi as a tutor for some of my technology modules, so it was great to read more about his work and see examples of fabric formwork tests that I had seen around the department and in the workshop.
One of the aspects of fabric formwork celebrated in this book is how it allows the concrete to flow and take on forms that it is naturally pre-disposed to, and how the concrete and fabric respond to each other, rather than one rigidly defining the form that the other shall take, as is the case with conventional formwork. Put one way:
“The use of fluid responsive formwork is a technique of constructing which allows the behaviour of material to engage with and influence the building process itself.”
Later on in the book, this same sentiment is put another way:
“The process reveals a synergy between the fabric and the fresh concrete. The concrete gives shape to the fabric by its weight and then receives the form and surface the fabric produces in return.”
As well as the fabric and fresh concrete influencing the form that will be created, the designer or architect naturally has a role as well. But instead of simply drawing or modelling exactly what the final form will be, the designer sets out certain parameters and then the concrete and fabric resolve the final form within these constraints. As stated in the book, with fabric formwork:
“Casting is no longer a process of replication; rather it becomes, with the use of textile, a field of possible outcomes within a fixed set of parameters.”
As the designer becomes more experienced, they can have greater control and understanding over what the final form will be, but can also choose how much freedom they will give the materials and therefore how much uncertainty to build into the process:
“In pursuing the performative limits of the fabric through analogue, rather than digital, research it will be possible to understand the predictive behaviour of the textile…”
This way of thinking therefore lends itself to taking a prototypical approach, which is also explicitly advocated in the book:
"The practice of prototyping is a proper domain for architectural research. Constructive processes and material inertia need to be thought of not as impediments to formal invention, but rather as active participants in innovation. As educators and as architects, the compulsion should be to build, learn and build again…”
One section of the book is particularly relevant to my project in that it talks about in situ fabric formwork casting. This was good to see, as most of the other research that I have done, particularly into the work of Mark West and C.A.S.T. has focused on pre-fabrication processes. In this section it is suggested that there is "...the possibility of use by non-skilled labour and scope for constructor expression", which is also encouraging for my community-centred approach.
Reflection
This was definitely a great book for me to read, and will influence both my technology and studio work. It has been really inspiring to see all of incredible and beautiful forms that are being created in concrete with fabric formwork processes at a large scales, as I have been limited to using concrete and working at a smaller scale. It has also been great encouragement to hear such strong advocacy for prototypical methods and engagement with physical materials, as this is something which Nick has advocated from the start of the year as well, and is something that I have been striving to do lots of, and have found to be rewarding.
“The architect should be taught not to assume that the mastery of matter in order to achieve form is always the responsibility of others. In the very conception of a design the qualities and properties of materials must be grasped and understood in order to make.”
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