Bricks installed on the formwork hammock.
Self-Forming Masonry Vaults:
This project was part of the Master of Architecture Thesis of Neil Prakash (2005). It developed a method of forming a brick funicular compression vault without constructing a rigid falsework construction. Bricks placed on a welded wire mesh “hammock” form themselves into a pure funicular arch geometry by their own self-weight. Mortar is placed between the individual masonry units, and the arch is inverted, providing a thin-shell funicular compression vault structure. These “elf-forming” vaults can be pre-fabricated and transported, or manufactured on site.
This project was done under the supervision of Mark West and in collaboration with Mr. Fariborz Hashemian, PEng, MSc, and PhD Candidate U of M Civil Engineering and C.A.S.T., the Chilean architect Ronnie Araya, C.A.S.T. Visiting Researcher, Brian Gebhardt, Master Mason and teacher, with his students at Red River College (RRC) in Winnipeg, and with the advise of Gus Kotoulas of Alpha Masonry, with financial support from the Canadian Masonry Research Institute (CMRI) and in-kind support from RRC.
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