User Perspectives on a Fabrication-Informed Design Workflow for Non-Standard Façade Elements with 3D-Printed Formwork

Quan, Deyan, Lombardi, Davide, Herr, Christianne and Urbano Gutierrez, Rosa (2025) User Perspectives on a Fabrication-Informed Design Workflow for Non-Standard Façade Elements with 3D-Printed Formwork. Nexus Network Journal. ISSN 1522-4600

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Abstract

This paper introduces a pedagogical and practical design-oriented fabrication-informed workflow that holistically investigates user experiences within parametric co-rationalisation, emphasising fabrication-informed exploration and early-stage integration of design and making constraints. The workflow targets non-standard façade elements using ultra-high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) and 3D-printed formwork (3DPF), integrating parametric modelling and fabrication constraints to facilitate informed design decisions. Experienced computational architectural designers then tested and validated the workflow’s usability and effectiveness. The analysis of their design processes and the follow-up interviews reveal how users negotiated trade-offs between geometric complexity and fabrication feasibility, highlighting shifts in constraint prioritisation. The findings are consistent with prior work on co-rationalisation and early-stage fabrication-informed modelling, but extend them by capturing user-led constraint-driven decisions within parametric settings. This study incorporates user perspectives to enhance adaptability and constraint integration, resulting in a validated and accessible workflow that supports material-informed design education and early-stage fabrication-aware exploration.