Doctoral Candidate: Matthias Brenner
Project Partner: ALGISA AG
The integration of digital fabrication techniques presents a promising opportunity to revolutionize the approach to maintenance and repair in the fields of heritage conservation and sustainable construction. This research project explores the potential of advanced manufacturing for producing customized replacement parts for complex metal facade elements.
The goal is to minimize interventions in the original building fabric while avoiding the large-scale replacement of facade systems. This strategy not only reduces resource consumption and waste generation but also has significant impacts on the preservation of our architectural heritage and the sustainable management of our built environment.
This case study focuses on the production of customized metal cast parts as targeted replacement components for facade elements of the CLA research building at ETH Zurich. The investigations particularly focus on the role of digital fabrication techniques in the production of these components.
The project is funded by the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication. The interdisciplinary collaboration aims not only to refine digital fabrication methods but also to identify scalable applications in various architectural contexts.
The project demonstrates various applications of digital fabrication techniques in facade maintenance and repair, laying the foundation for a paradigm shift in the management of the younger building stock.
