Reinforced concrete is accepted as a major contributor to climate change (World Resources Institute, 2021). Research into construction technology is addressing this problem, targeting different vectors of approach such as using greener materials, lowering energy consumption of construction, or maintaining comfort conditions. The common goal of these different efforts is to reduce the number of resources needed, be them material or energetic. Looking into construction materials, the main contributor in amount of CO2 tones per year is reinforced concrete, whose ingredients cement and steel are major consumers of energy. Mining for these materials takes a big toll in the local environment, but it is the high temperatures necessary to transform limestone into cement, or iron and other metals into steel that are responsible for the greatest percentage in the carbon footprint.

Although many efforts have been made into creating greener versions of concrete, these researches approach on the dependency of a reinforced concrete approach to construction has been maintained, calling for alternative solutions based not only in different materials, but on different force demands which suggest different geometric shapes.

Inspired by architecture historic masonry techniques, Fallacara (2003) starts exploring stereotomic constructions in an updating effort of classic southern Italy stone construction, effectively introducing the digitalization of stereotomy. This idea of utilizing classic structural forms to overcome space by using geo based materials is also researched in the engineering side (Block, 2009), creating a renewed field of knowledge based in funicular structures, traditionally knows as vaults. Referencing innovators such as Gaudí, Guastavino or Isler, these structures are capable of spanning large spaces and withstand big weights using small amounts of expensive material; by expensive, we mean difficult to source, having a high energetic footprint, or featuring low circularity potential overall. A humble example of this potential is the ETH Zurich Pavilion in New Work by Hebel and Block (2014) where the voussoirs (structural blocks in a stereotomic construction) are made of waste cardboard.

Current stereotomic research has reached a development apex, as explained by Fallacara & Barberio (2018), and spectacular examples such as those by Pigram et al. (2012) or Clifford & McGee (2014) are exemplary to convince us of the feasibility of these structural systems as an alternative to carbon-heavy reinforced concrete slabs. While understanding that expressive vaulted pavilions are not sufficient for the promotion of more
compressive and low-carbon construction approaches, we follow the footprints of industrialized approaches for the replacement of concrete slabs by funicular designs (Costa et al., 2020; Rippmann et al., 2018) which implement updated stereotomic knowledge to fabrication and assembly strategies in the construction sector.

This paper proposes digital tools that enable architects to narrow the gap between academic exploration and the construction sector. On one hand, digital tools have been instrumental in allowing researchers and innovators to design and build stereotomic shapes. Although Kilian (2003) developed specific C++ code to emulate hanging chains in CADenary, or Rippmann (2016) developed a Rhino plugin (RhinoVault) to create TNA stereotomic designs, these tools are too specialized, or out of reach for the average architect. This type of research works have already been successful in demonstrating the effectiveness and potential of using digital tools to power the introduction of stereotomic and other funicular constructions to the design lexicon of architects. However, this potential will not be leveraged while a culture of funicular building does not enter the architecture language. Starting with the Renaissance, architecture treatises were instrumental in disseminating new strategies, designs, or geometrical solutions to architecture challenges. Today, the computer software that the architect uses holds most of the geometric prowess he needs. The division of a segment in equal parts, or the drafting of an ellipse no longer pose difficulties, as CAD instantly provides the answer. However, CAD is no longer an innovation, but the technical basis for BIM, the current software paradigm used by architecture offices around the world. Building Information Modelling not only upgrades 2D (projections) drafting to full 3D models, but also provides these geometric entities with valuable semantic information about materials, finishes, structural function, and properties, among a plethora of other relevant construction related parameters. It is within this type of digital environment – currently dominated by Autodesk Revit and Graphisoft Archicad – that the average architect develops his designs, effectively replacing most of the previous work created in the drawing board or even with physical models. Although hand sketching or model making will hardly be totally replaced due to their intrinsic and irreplaceable qualities, an architect is usually dependent on the tools that his software provides, and most practitioners do not master programming languages. As such, this paper proposes the idea to integrate stereotomic arches or vaults into the BIM environment by creating specific tools and classes homologous to those such as Walls or Slabs.