Shuyi Huang, Lucia Licciardello, Ana Anton, 2024
Self-supporting Lamellae is a prototype that demonstrates the potential of 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) in producing lightweight structural components with high efficiency and minimal manual intervention. Inspired by the branching patterns of mushroom lamellae, the design introduces rib-like folds on the column-slab system. These ribs enhance the structure’s self-supporting capacity during printing and are also structurally informed to integrate the reinforcement system and improve overall performance.
Both the slab and the column can be printed monolithically, eliminating the need for custom formwork, temporary support, tailored substrates, or segmentation. As a result, the system is well-suited to the fast production demands of the construction industry while preserving the benefits of customization and material efficiency enabled by 3DCP technology.
This lamella-based structural system offers a rapid, low-cost, and construction-ready solution for the paradigm of “print structure only” in large-scale 3DCP. It holds potential for prefabricated multi-story buildings, providing an alternative to 3D-printed masonry walls and opening up new design opportunities for automated construction.