KnitNervi in the "Technoscape: The Architecture of Engineers"

The Block Research Group, in collaboration with former NCCR researcher Dr. Mariana Popescu from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at Delft University of Technology fabricated the installation "KnitNervi" for the exhibition "Technoscape: The Architecture of Engineers" at the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, Italy.

KnitNervi - inner view of finished formwork system demonstrator © ETHZurich BRG and TUDelft

KnitNervi is the pavilion-scale demonstrator of a flexible formwork system for constructing a ribbed concrete shell. The system consists of a bending-active gridshell, as falsework and reinforcement, encapsulated by a CNC-knitted flexible formwork. KnitNervi was developed through strong collaboration between architecture, engineering and construction specialists. The aim is to initiate a discussion about sustainable and structurally efficient architecture in the 21st century.

The installation opened on 1 October as part of the international exhibition "Technoscape" and will be on display until 10 April 2022.

Project Credits:

Design

ETHZ BRG: Lotte Scheder-Bieschin, Serban Bodea, Tom Van Mele, Philippe Block

TUDelft: Mariana Popescu, Nikoletta Christidi

Structural engineering

ETHZ BRG: Lotte Scheder-Bieschin, Philippe Block

Knitted formwork

TUDelft: Mariana Popescu, Nikoletta Christidi

Fabrication and construction

ETHZ BRG: Kerstin Spiekermann, Lotte Scheder-Bieschin, Serban Bodea

with support of Eva Schnewly, Damaris Eschbach, Rolf Imseng, Stefan Liniger

TUDelft: Mariana Popescu, Nikoletta Christidi

Project and site construction coordination

ETHZ BRG: Serban Bodea

TUDelft: Mariana Popescu

Exhibition content, coordination, and curation

ETHZ BRG: Lotte Scheder-Bieschin, Serban Bodea, Mariana Popescu, Kerstin Spiekermann, Noelle Paulson, Katharina Haake, Philippe Block

with support of Eva Schnewly, Rolf Imseng