Abstract
Since its invention by the Romans, concrete has been cast into all manner of formworks. Whether temporary or permanent, however, rigid formwork has been the traditional standard. Because concrete is the most widely used construction material, improvements in the economy of erecting concrete structures will have significant implications. One of the best opportunities for cost reduction is minimizing formwork costs—expenses that can represent about half the total cost of a concrete structure.1,2 Fabric formwork is a potential solution toward this goal. As a compounding benefit, fabric formwork can also enable the casting of structurally efficient, variable section building components.3 Taking advantage of fabric forms, however, is a joint task of concrete technology specialists, structural engineers, and architects. Fabric structures exhibit material and geometric nonlinearities when loaded, so forms must be designed based on experimentation or structural analysis using software capable of shape-finding.4,5 Education and research must focus on this barrier before the full potential of this formwork type can be realized. arabic 5 English 31