A Modern Take on Traditional Columns: DDW 2024

This column segment, shown at Dutch Design Week 2024, combines computational design, material experimentation and 3D concrete printing. It is part of the Computational Concrete Columns series and questions conventional ideas of form and ornament in architectural elements.

A collaboration between Vertico and TU Eindhoven

The column was created by Cristina Nan (Assistant Professor, TU/e) in collaboration with Mattia Zucco. It was designed and fabricated in a research setting at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), supported by postgraduate students and with computational and printing support from Nikolett Ásványi (full credits below).

Skin, structure and pigment

The design deliberately exposes the relationship between the column's skin and core, setting inner support against outer ornament. The visible layering and pigmentation follow the material logic of concrete printing and show how expressive robotic fabrication can be. Read more in Rethinking the column: revealing the core.

The patterns and surface detailing come from parametric design tools, which turn a traditional construction element into an object with aesthetic and conceptual value. See also our Modular Column project.

What the column explores

Printed with Vertico's robotic 3D concrete printing system, the column explores:

• Material expression
• Sustainable digital fabrication
• Ornamental structure without formwork

It is a physical example of how academic research and industry can work together to rethink structural components in architectural design. The column was one of the pieces we showed at Dutch Design Week 2024.

Credits

• Design: Cristina Nan (TU/e), in collaboration with Mattia Zucco
• Postgraduate students: Ahmad Akif Aiman Bin Khairuddin, Reza Aghaei, Jonas Varnauskas
• Computational and printing support: Nikolett Ásványi