This project investigates the use of construction and demolition waste (CDW) as a primary material resource for the development of prefabricated concrete slabs. It combines computational design, material optimization, evolutionary algorithms, and physical simulation to explore how reclaimed concrete and ceramic aggregates can be systematically incorporated into new construction products. A parametric workflow was developed to generate, evaluate, and optimize aggregate recipes based on particle gradation, material distribution, and fabrication constraints. Multi-objective optimization was used to identify candidate material compositions, while clustering methods were applied to organize solution families. The selected recipes were subsequently translated into particle-based simulations to compare analytical predictions with physical packing behaviour, creating a workflow that connects material sourcing, computational evaluation, and fabrication-oriented validation.
DESIGN PROJECT
The Digital Matter project investigates the use of processed construction and demolition waste as aggregate for a prefabricated slab system.
The computational workflow complements physical prototyping by evaluating alternative particle-size and material recipes.
DESIGN PROBLEM
Construction and demolition waste (CDW) must be transformed into a viable concrete aggregate material mix that balances material performance, recycled content, structural benchmarks, and material recovery objectives.
COMPUTATIONAL METHODS
INPUT, GENES + FIXED PARAMETERS
PERFORMANCE METRICS
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
PSEUDOCODE
WORK-FLOW DIAGRAM
WALLACEI RUN SUMMARY
FITNESS CRITERIA BEHAVIOR
REPRESENTATIVE SOLUTIONS
PARETO FRONT + CLUSTERING
OPTIMISATION WORKFLOW
RECIPE CATALOGUE
VISUALIZATION
