LU WEN-CHIH

Platinum Prize

The thin concrete shell has been abandoned for fifty years, despite its structural efficiency and architectural expression. This failure was not about design, but economics and ecology. The 20th-century masters' complex forms required expensive, wasteful, single-use formwork, a method that is no longer viable. This project confronts that stalemate by proposing a new, future-oriented construction system.

This project was driven by a rigorous series of physical experiments. I discovered the real challenge was not the complex concrete form, but the 3D-printed formwork itself. Through four prototypes, I focused on the engineering realities of the mold. I solved critical fabrication issues, including mold thickness to withstand concrete pressure, demolding angles for undercuts, and a segmentation logic that fit the printer's constraints while ensuring precise assembly.

These lessons were scaled up for the final 1:1 on-site installation. The final design was driven by real-world logistics, adopting a precast, dry-assembly logic to solve the challenges of transport and on-site assembly. This process proved that by treating the formwork as a reusable, high-precision product, we can make complex construction both affordable and efficient.

This project delivers a practical method for the rebirth of the concrete shell, but its potential goes further. In a world still built with concrete, this system can shorten timelines, reduce specialized labor, and make complex, expressive shapes economically possible. The project's true value is its combination of a practical, physically proven methodology with the new imagination it offers to the entire field of architecture.