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 . 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 […]
