Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: a team led by ETH Zurich researchers has constructed an expansive canopy using 399 slabs of limestone and no glue, showcasing a "milestone for stone engineering" (+ slideshow).
Photograph by Iwan Baan
ETH Zurich's Block Research Group worked with engineering firm Ochsendorf DeJong & Block and masonry specialist The Escobedo Group to create the Armadillo Vault ? the centrepiece of the Beyond Bending exhibition at the Venice Biennale.
Photograph by Iwan Baan
The curving canopy features structural spans of up to 16 metres, but is supported entirely through compression rather than with the use of adhesives or fixings.
Photograph by Iwan Baan
"Without any glue or mortar, with perfectly dry connections, this is really a milestone for stone engineering," explained Philippe Block, who runs Block Research Group with Tom Van Mele.
Related story: ETH Zurich designers create arched pavilion out of upcycled beverage cartons

"We have some main spans of 16 metres, but it is only five centimetres thick where it touches on top," he told Dezeen.
"So it's an extremely thin shell ? if you were to compare it to an eggshell, it is half the thickness proportionately."
Photograph by Anna Maragkoudaki
The project was developed using RhinoVAULT, a digital design plugin that is licensed by ETH Zurich and has over 16,000 users.
It is intended to demonstrate that, with detailed knowledge of h...