From Hanging to Standing: Fabric-Formed Catenary Arches as Scalable Concrete Building Components
Concrete is the most widely used construction material globally. Despite its versatility, it is typically poured into stiff, rectilinear formwork that restricts formal exploration and leads to considerable material waste and higher carbon output. Fabric formwork offers an alternative in which flexible textiles shape fresh concrete into structurally efficient geometries such as thin shells and catenary arches. However, a persistent challenge remains that forms optimized in tension under gravity often crack when rotated into their final compression orientation. Previous research has focused on form-finding and fabrication workflows, with little attention to damage-free reorientation. This paper addresses this gap through two contributions: a CNC-milled repositionable frame with soft-to-rigid connection details enabling controlled tilt-up reorientation without damage, and a scalar reframing that embeds small repeating catenary units within larger building components such as walls and slabs. The research pursues three objectives: (1) to design and refine compatible textile-concrete combinations, with particular focus on non-woven geotextiles; (2) to develop a CNC-cut, repositionable frame system that redistributes stresses during reorientation; and (3) to devise robust soft-to-rigid connection details that permit safe demolding and handling. Through material testing and iterative prototyping, the study identifies concrete paste-geotextile pairings that produce high-quality surface finishes. A tilt-up method was developed where the frame rotates with the arch, minimizing tensile stress. Results demonstrate that catenary arches can be cast, released, and reoriented without cracking or damage. These findings advance fabric-formed concrete toward low-tech, materially efficient structures with reduced environmental impact.