Rapid Deployment of Multistable Meter-Scale Reinforced Concrete Structures

More than one third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the construction industry. One of its most time-consuming and polluting components is formwork, which uses cross-laminated timber (CLT), accounting for almost 12% of total global GHG emissions and up to 75% of construction time. Thus, reducing the need for CLT in formwork for concrete casting has garnered significant attention in recent years. Here, we present a novel formwork method based on the deployment of a multistable structure for reinforced concrete, capable of rapid full deployment with a single inlet. Our structure exhibits similar tensile resistance in tensile tests as traditional reinforced concrete columns, while allowing complex geometries difficult to standard formwork methods. We demonstrate this concept via the deployment of a meter-scale dome structure with a diameter of 3 meters and a height of 2 meters. The presented concept may lead to more environmentally friendly, rapid, and precise reinforced structures, eliminating the need for complex on-site preparation and reducing GHG emissions.