Circular Hybrid Façades: Responsive Design of Thermally Efficient 3D Printed Concrete Skins on Reused Concrete Elements

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearchpeer-review

Abstract

3D concrete printing (3DCP) offers a versatile, flexible approach for producing customisable, project-specific components as one-off solutions. This paper explores the use of 3DCP as a circular retrofit strategy to fabricate thermally optimised facade outer skins for reused concrete elements. This work formulates a computational design-to-fabrication workflow for the development of three-wythe printed elements, assessing printability, material quantities, and 2D numerical simulations in THERM, while maintaining a consistent internal topology for fabrication. The approach is tested by simulating and comparing four variants from a benchmark uniform section to a customised design. Thermal transmittance improved from 0.41 W/(m2 ·K) for the base design to 0.29 W/(m2·K) for the custom variable case, using the same amount of printing material. These findings indicate that performance-driven design can deliver meaningful performance upgrades for reuse and suggest the potential of 3DCP as a key enabler technology to facilitate reuse and advance circularity in the built environment.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationConference proceedings of XXIX International Conference of the Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics. SiGraDi 2025.
Number of pages12
Publication date2025
Publication statusPublished - 2025
EventXXIX International Conference of the Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics - Córdoba, Argentina
Duration: 19 Nov 202521 Nov 2025

Conference

ConferenceXXIX International Conference of the Ibero-American Society of Digital Graphics
Country/TerritoryArgentina
CityCórdoba
Period19/11/202521/11/2025

Keywords

  • 3D concrete printing
  • Responsive facade
  • Reused concrete
  • Additive manufacturing
  • Circular construction

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Circular Hybrid Façades: Responsive Design of Thermally Efficient 3D Printed Concrete Skins on Reused Concrete Elements'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this