Design Solution · Structural Systems
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Doubly-curved concrete floor system using compression-driven geometry to reduce material and embodied carbon.
The Rippmann Floor System (RFS) applies structural geometry research to create vaulted floor elements that carry loads primarily in compression rather than bending, reducing concrete volume and reinforcement steel. It addresses the material intensity of conventional flat-slab floors in mid-to-high-rise construction. The system has been demonstrated at Empa NEST (2020) and is in planning for CreaTower I, a 10-storey commercial building in Zug.
The Rippmann Floor System applies compression-geometry logic to concrete floors — doubly-curved vaulted sections carry loads primarily through compression rather than bending, reducing concrete volume and steel reinforcement versus conventional flat slabs. The structural geometry principle is well-established and the Empa NEST demonstration (2020) provides a real built reference at inndex 42, while the CreaTower I project in Zug represents the first genuine move toward multi-storey commercial deployment, though it remains in planning. The value proposition for a specifier is embodied carbon and material efficiency: thinner sections with less steel is a meaningful lever on structural emissions in mid-rise construction. The trade-off is architectural and construction programme flexibility: doubly-curved formwork is project-specific and demands specialist fabrication and geometry expertise, services routing through vaulted floor plates is constrained compared to flat slabs, and the geometry imposes spatial conditions that may conflict with tenant layouts or future reconfiguration needs. Structural performance under dynamic loads — seismic, vibration, and wind in taller applications — has not been extensively documented beyond the experimental scale. This is a technically credible innovation on a genuine carbon reduction pathway, but the right context is a project where the design team has committed to structural expression and material efficiency as primary drivers, not one where the floor system needs to be invisible to fit-out.
Peer-reviewed structural mechanics are solid (Block Research Group, ETH, >10 years of publication). Proof-of-concept at Empa NEST (2020) and Holcim demonstrator (2023) are real. CreaTower I (Gigon/Guyer, Zug) is cited as confirmed and in planning but no third-party construction confirmation found in source excerpt. Carbon claims of '80% embodied carbon reduction' are self-reported with no published EPD, no LCA boundary definition, no named third-party auditor, and no stated baseline comparator ('conventional concrete floor' type/thickness undefined). Material reduction claims (70–80%) are plausible given geometry but not independently validated. Source URL yields only JavaScript/analytics boilerplate; substantive reporting not accessible from excerpt provided.
#thin-shell concrete #compression-driven design #embodied carbon reduction #floor systems #structural geometry