Vaults from buildings: thin-tile vaulting from stabilized rubble tiles

Parallel Session 75, Shell Structures

Mohammad Wesam Al Asali, Will Hawkins and Michael H. Ramage (University of Cambridge & University of Bath) present their work on thin-tile vaulting.

This paper investigates the applicability of thin-tile vaulting in the context of post-war reconstruction in Syria. It proposes using stabilized rubble tiles for vaults to reduce concrete consumption and eliminate steel in slabs altogether where seismically possible. For low and mid-rise housing, the paper capitalizes on thin-tile vaulting for its advantages in using available materials, simple construction that can be reduced to rules of thumb. The paper includes a geometrical study, material fabrication, prototype construction, and structural testing under a line load. The proposed system is shown to have a lower embodied carbon than common alternatives. Because the proposed system is built on an existing production method of concrete blocks and self-built architecture, the application and use of the proposed thin-tile vaulted unit are envisaged to be intertwined with prevailing everyday informal building methods. Similarly, the paper speculates on the positive environmental impact of recycling destroyed buildings into vaults without complicated processing.

Read the paper by accessing our conference proceedings. 📚 Use the link https://doi.org/10.15126/900337 to download your digital copy and let yourself be #inspired!

Watch their presentation "Vaults from buildings: thin-tile vaulting from stabilized rubble tiles" from the Spatial Structures 2020/21 Conference.

#IASS #IASS2020_21 #SpatialStructures #Architecture #Structures #Engineering #LightweightStructures #CivilEngineering #StructuralEngineering #Conference #Construction #computationaldesign #nextgeneration #parallelsessions #shellstructures #shells #vaults #tiles