Supervisor: Marta Male Alemany, Victor Vinas, IaaC 2008
First, the Romans realized the potential of the dome developing masonry domes and vaults. These constructions enabled circular vaults, usually in the form of a portion of a sphere that exert an equal thrust in all directions. In modern architecture the availability of reinforced and thin-shell concrete, glass and steel, and plastic has stimulated interest in the use of shells for roofing purposes.
The IaaC Card Board Dome has been a practical experiment on how to built a reinforced shell construction out of a recyclable material using digital design and fabrication technology. One important parameter for the design was the relationship between material (Cardboard) and performance, for fabrication the key parameters were economics and production feasibility at the IaaC Fab Lab.
The final prototype pavilion was produced and assembled out of 1,5 mm thick folded triangular cardboard components joint through zip ties. Each unfolded module was limited in its size to the dimensions of the existing Laser cutter bed at the FABLAB Barcelona. The project was a collaborative work between twenty Master students.
