Curves in a Colossal Concrete Installation

Can concrete designs be expressive and carbon-conserving? Yes, say the architects of the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial’s Stereoform Slab Pavilion, which showcases concrete’s potential for both curves and CO2 reduction.

To begin the construction process, Odico Construction Robotics in Denmark created a mold for the alternately rectilinear and sinuous concrete forms. The mold was cut into shape by a 7-axis, robotic abrasive wire-cutting arm, which sliced and formed it like a giant lathe. (The mold is made of expanded polystyrene, a close cousin to Styrofoam that’s stronger and denser.) Working from CAD drawings, this diamond-tipped, articulated bandsaw runs on custom digital-fabrication software, cutting through mirrored forms that play to concrete’s strengths and cover up its weaknesses.