Karolin Schmidbaur, Lukas Allner, Gonzalo Vaillo  

Janurary 21, 2026, 7:00 pm

Ortner & Stanger
Project Research Space
Fürstenweg 66, im Hof
Innsbruck

research abstract

research project, 2023 – 2027

The growing scarcity of fossil resources and the global threat of climate change are
putting considerable pressure on architecture, demanding new concepts that go be-
yond the range of established building materials, systems and processes.
Additionally, advanced algorithmic tools in architectural design and fabrication, such
as simulation, machine learning and machine vision, allow designers to cope with
complex materials and geometry, and enable the use of non-standard, transformable
building parts with a complex geometry.
The proposal integrates these separate approaches emerging in architectural dis-
course and related fields into a methodology for understanding the architectural po-
tential of vulcanized fiber and developing a prototypical building method [system].
Vulcanized fiber is a little known, industrial, cellulose-based product, produced in
sheets. Besides a good ecological balance, this material is durable, strong, and light-
weight, offering significant potential for architectural application. Of special interest
is the material’s natural deformation as a result of the drying process. It not only pro-
duces a distinct, natural form aesthetics, but also a potentially improved structural
performance as well as an ambiguous functionality and spatial quality. In this context
it is essential to study the levels of control between form definition and a self-forming
process.
The current proposal builds on developments in paper-based construction and aims
at investigating the aesthetic, functional, spatial, and constructive potential of vulca-
nized fiber, used as building components in architecture. Understanding the distinct
characteristics of parts and the emerging implications for potential correlations is the
basis for a bottom-up method of designing spatial structures. Hereby, natural-phys-
ical phenomena are combined with a hybrid working method of digital and analog
techniques – to formulate a contemporary articulation of sustainable architecture.
By following the dynamic principles of the distinct material to conceptualize archi-
tectural environments this research aims at activating a new resource in architecture
and expanding the aesthetic, functional and spatial norms of a sustainable building
culture.