At the Botanical Garden of the University of Freiburg, the interdisciplinary team of researchers and students at ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart have unveiled the livMatS Pavilion. The pavilion is the world’s first load-bearing structure made entirely of robotically wound flax fibre, a material that is fully naturally renewable, biodegradable, and regionally available in Central Europe.
The load-bearing structure of the biobased pavilioncomprises 15 flax fibre components, robotically prefabricated exclusively from continuous spun natural fibres, as well as a fibrous capstone element on top of the structure. The elements vary in overall length from 4.50 to 5.50 m and weigh only 105 kg on average. The entire fibre structure weighs approximately 1.5 t while covering an area of 46 m². The final design complies with the German building code and related structural permit requirements and set of load combinations including wind and snow loads.
The distinctive, intricate surface appearance of the structural flax elements is evocative of both vernacular examples of latticework and biological systems and shows that advanced robotic fabrication techniques when applied to natural materials can create an architecture that is both ecological and expressive.
The pavilion is intended to serve as an outdoor lecture room at the University of Freiburg for the next five years.
