Smart Slab
The Smart Slab is a load-bearing concrete floor system that combines structural efficiency with a radically new architectural expression enabled by 3D-printed formwork. By shifting geometric complexity from material mass to digitally fabricated formwork, the project demonstrates how concrete construction can become lighter, more precise, and more expressive without increasing material use.
Developed as part of the DFAB HOUSE at the NEST in Dübendorf, the Smart Slab integrates computational design, structural optimization, and robotic fabrication into a single architectural system. Its deeply articulated geometry follows a hierarchical grid of post-tensioned ribs, achieving cantilevers of up to 4.5 meters while using nearly 70% less concrete than a conventional slab.
The project showcases how digital fabrication can transform concrete from a massive, standardized material into a lightweight, highly differentiated, and performance-driven building system, with precise integration of structure, services, and form achieved directly during prefabrication.
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Prof. Benjamin Dillenburger,
Chair of Digital Building Technologies, ETH Zurich
Prof. Robert Flatt,
Chair of Physical Chemistry of Building Materials, ETH Zurich
Prof. Joseph Schwartz,
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Dr. Mania Aghaei Meibodi (Project lead), Mathias Bernhard, Andrei Jipa, Demetris Shammas, Rena Giesecke, Jesus Medina, Melina Mezari, Matthias Leschok (Chair of Digital Building Technologies, ETH Zurich); Dr. Timothy Wangler, Nicolas Ruffray (Chair of Physical Chemistry of Building Materials, ETH Zurich); Dr. Marco Bahr (Chair of Structural Design, ETH Zurich)
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Konrad Graser (Lead), Marco Baur, Sarah Schneider
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Ana Anton, Patrick Bedarf, Philippe Steiner, Ioanis Fousekis, Lorenz Brunner, Leander Peper, Xijie Ma (Chair of Digital Building Technologies, ETH Zurich); Michael Lyrenmann, Philippe Fleischmann, Andreas Reusser (Technicians NCCR Digital Fabrication, ETH Zurich); Heinz Richner (Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich); Prof. Dr. Eleni Chatzi, Vasileios Ntertimanis, Harmanci Yunus Emre (Chair of Structural Mechanics, ETH Zurich); Prof. Dr. Andreas Wieser, Robert Presl, Eugenio Serantoni, Valens Frangez (Chair of Geosensors and Engineering Geodesy, ETH Zurich); Adi Grüninger (Chair of Architecture and Art, ETH Zurich)
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Digital Building Technologies Group/ETH Zurich, Michael Lyrenmann, Catherine Leutenegger and Tom Mundy.
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