Opus Luteum: Incorporating a Third Dimension to Tilt-up Concrete Wall Panels

Tilt-up concrete wall construction is a casting alternative to cast-in-place and precast systems.The panels are cast horizontally on site and tilted up to a vertical position, forming strong building envelopes.Some remarkable features of the tilt-up system are the durability, speed, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of the process compared to other conventional construction systems.Tilt-up construction is characterized by the simplicity of the casting method; using a flat floor slab as formwork on site, the outcome is typically flat panels.This article showcases the design and construction of tilt-up concrete panels that incorporate a third dimension to the typical flat panel using soil as formwork.Earth, the most primitive and basic construction material, can support an efficient moldmaking system that is environmentally sensitive.This innovative approach utilizes an accessible, economical, and reusable local material that allows the configuration of molds with double-curvature surfaces that can provide additional structural rigidity and stability to the concrete panels.The production of concrete building envelopes with complex geometries opens a range of design possibilities for load-bearing building envelopes with simple and affordable means.Keywords: concrete construction, concrete load-bearing walls, doublecurvature concrete shells, soil as formwork, tilt-up concrete wall panels Concrete is the most used construction material worldwide.There is an equivalent of forty tons of concrete for every person on the planet, and one ton per person is added annually. 1 The material's ability to phase change from liquid to solid allows it to adopt virtually any shape, making it exceptionally versatile.Concrete is commonly used in a wide range Peer-Reviewed