Calgary researchers turn aluminum into sustainable 3D furniture

The University of Calgary (UofC) is using flat sheet of aluminum to create sustainable 3D furniture as part of its contributions to revitalize Calgary’s downtown.

The School of Architecture, Planning and Scape (SAPL) has been working with the city of Calgary on many projects including this one.

The city wants SAPL to give ideas on how to make exciting, novel furniture and performances to activate patio spaces.

How curved-creased folded furniture is made?

“There are many factors that really decide what design we pick,” said Dr. Alicia Nahmad Vasquez, assistant professor in robotics and AI at UofC. “Because we know that it needs to perform, the person needs to be sitting on them, they also have to be strong. And in this case, the city wanted to keep these pieces for the future.”

Vasquez adds the pieces can be kept by reducing the amount of space.

“That kind of started to lead us to our techniques like curved-creased folding which basically allows you to create a 3D shape from flat sheet material,” said Vasquez. “And just by bending it, it just pops up into shape and then you kind of unfold it and just becomes flat again.”

She says they spent about one month making paper prototypes and testing how they bend and fold before they are moved into full-scale prototypes.

How a flat sheet of aluminum becomes sustainable 3D furniture and how @ucalgarysapl is using this technique to furnish revitalized gathering spaces in downtown Calgary https://t.co/uS0mWeKID4 #UCalgary pic.twitter.com/0eKgRIgT6b

— U Calgary (@UCalgary) October 3, 2022

“Once we design the digital pattern, we simulate it in the computer, we create the G-code,” She said.

How will these lines transform into code the machine will understand?

Vasquez says they have a lot of manual involvement to cut the pattern, such as grinding and filing to make sure the furniture pieces are safe.

“Then after grinding them, basically we bend them,” she said. “Right now we are using aluminum.”

She adds it is surprising how aluminum can become strong.

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“By adding this curvature, you’ve made the material very strong, so all of the intelligence is in the pattern,” she added. “And then finally, tension it and then they just get cleaned and spray-painted.”

Vasquez says the city’s reaction to their ideas is helping the development and implementation of the feature of “digital fabrication” for permanent activation of Calgary’s downtown.