Well established rod bending strategies in manufacturing industries were analysed to develop an approach that would reduce the mechanical parts necessary to control the bending process, ultimately arriving at a systematic coordination of a bending jig system and an intelligent robotic toolpath programmed with Python. The robotic bending protocols enabled more than 80 steel rods, 1500 mm long and 8 mm in diameter, to be bent within a short time frame. The rebar configuration defined the form of the initial interwoven models, which were iteratively analysed via Finite Element Analysis and fed back to the computational algorithm until a final configuration was reached.

The resulting triangulated mesh was CNC-milled from Polypropylene sheets, which were then folded to match the rebar skeleton. Finally, a mix of concrete and fiberglass additives was poured into the Polypropylene formwork supported by robotically bent reinforcement bars, and could be cast and cured within several hours. Polypropylene formwork was then removed, leaving the concrete with a reflective surface. Weave.X illustrates the architectural possibilities of using concrete in a non-conventional way by creating strong associations between computational design methodologies and robotic fabrication processes.

The pavilion is characterized by a continuous network of concrete branches that support each other while creating an amorphous spatial enclosure.