Performance based design of low-carbon concrete structures

Concrete, our most widely used construction material, is a fluid that offers the opportunity to economically create structures of almost any geometry. Yet this unique fluidity is seldom capitalised on, with concrete instead being cast into rigid prismatic moulds to create high material use structures with large carbon footprints. This paper will demonstrate the design process for flexible formwork, bringing together flexural and shear design issues. It is seen that replacing conventional orthogonal moulds with a flexible system comprised primarily of high strength, low cost fabric sheets, can utilise the fluidity of concrete to create extraordinary possibilities for highly optimised, architecturally interesting, building forms.