Laser form concrete

Concrete, although already known to the ancient Romans, has been further developed in recent years to become the all-rounder among the building materials of the future. Self-compacting, fiber-reinforced or ultra-high-strength concretes are just a few examples.

The task as part of the practical exercise in the Building Materials Technology 2 course in the summer semester of 2022 was to create an individually designed exposed concrete ornament. The relief formwork was first developed by the students as a sketch and then as a CAD drawing. The individual motifs were then cut out of special polycarbonate film using a laser cutter. Finally, under the guidance of Winfried Schmidt and Daniel Horn, the ornaments were formed and poured with self-compacting concrete (fine-grain mix "Flowstone white").

The aim of these practical exercises was to train perception and improve understanding in later practical working life, as well as to raise awareness of concrete as a material, to acquire design and formwork construction skills and to implement them in the concrete laboratory.

The result is over 90 individual ornaments made of white exposed concrete, which can be joined together to form a surface using specially arranged repeat points. The work will be presented to the public both internally and externally at various events over the coming months.