In partnership with building materials company CEMEX, Matter Design has created a series of concrete units called Walking Assembly.
With the small concrete units weighing between 925 lbs to 1500 lbs and the large unit weighing roughly 3900 lbs, Walking Assembly is designed to be easily movable by hand.
To achieve this, similar techniques of construction practiced by ancient civilizations are explored and utilized.
“The mysterious knowledge surrounding the transportation and placement of megalithic structures of the past eludes contemporary building practices,” said Matter Design. “Walking Assembly re-introduces the potentials of that ancient knowledge to better inform the transportation and assembly of future architectures.”
“If a brick is designed for a single hand, and a concrete masonry unit (CMU) is designed for two, these massive masonry units (MMU) unshackle the dependency between size and the human body,” explained Matter Design. “Intelligence of transportation and assembly is designed into the elements themselves, liberating humans to guide these colossal concrete elements into place.”
Using variable density concrete to calibrate the centre of mass, concrete units that would otherwise require cranes and or heavy equipment can now be moved into place by hand which in turn creates “the possibility for a crane-less tilt up construction method”.
To learn more, click the link below.
