Shaping by Internal Material Frustration: Shifting to Architectural Scale

Abstract Self‐morphing of thin plates could greatly impact the life if used in architectural context. Yet, so far, its realizations are limited to small‐scale structures made of model materials. Here, new fabrication techniques are developed that turn two conventional construction materials—clay and fiber composites (FRP)—into smart, self‐morphing materials, compatible with architectural needs. Controlled experiments verify the quantitative connection between the prescribed small‐scale material structure and the global 3D surface, as predicted by the theory of incompatible elastic sheets. Scaling up of desired structures is demonstrated, including a method that copes with self‐weight effects. Finally, a method for the construction of FRP surfaces with complex curvature distribution is presented, together with a software interface that allows the computation of the 3D surface for a given fiber pattern (the forward problem), as well as the fiber distribution required for a desired 3D shape (the inverse problem). This work shows the feasibility of large‐scale self‐morphing surfaces for architecture.