Fabric formwork entails the use of fabrics as the main contact material for a concrete mould. The fabric is either hung or prestressed in a supporting falsework frame. Beams or trusses cast in fabric formwork are inherently non‐prismatic and have been shown to offer potential for structurally efficient shapes. The casting of beams or trusses in fabric formwork is a highly non‐linear problem due to the interaction of the fluid concrete with the woven, prestressed fabric material. Numerical models need to be developed for the engineering of these elements. To this end, it is demonstrated that it is feasible to integrate manufacturing constraints in an automatic optimization process. This is achieved by creating an automated computational framework that includes fabric form‐finding and finite element analysis, which operate within an optimization process that uses principles from biological evolution. The results show structurally efficient and manufacturable beams and demonstrate potential for optimization in general that explicitly includes fabrication considerations.

Budgets and safety of building projects are factors that both strive for attention. To use available budgets effectively it would be helpful to know the factors in the design and construction phase that primarily influence the structural safety of a building; the critical structural safety factors. This article mentions possible influencing factors on country level, organizational level and human level. An advantage of the method for determining the factors in this study is that they have not solely been based on the lessons from structural failures, but are also based on organizational and safety theories. Although additional research is needed to point out critical factors, this approach is promising to get insight into the factors that require special attention to stimulate structural safety.

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There has been continued global growth in tall building construction over recent years. The variation in the use of such buildings is remarkable, from lavish hotels and apartments to socially affordable units. As the world struggles to cope with growing numbers of people, dwindling resources and movements from rural to urban habitats it is unavoidable that population densities will increase, and more efficient use of scarce land will be needed. Taller buildings are the inevitable consequence. Tall buildings can use several different types of material to form their framework and envelope. Those materials are mixed to provide an optimum building solution to suit client requirements such as structure, occupancy, vision, affordability, timing, sustainability and quality. Precast concrete is one of those materials, and has been used from whole frameworks to facades, and elements mixed with structural steelwork and cast in place concrete. This state of the art report shows how precast concrete can be effectively integrated into tall buildings using modern materials and techniques, drawing on the experience and expertise that is currently available in the global precast concrete industry. The report is aimed at not only building professionals and students, but also at contractors, investors, owners, public bodies and any other parties interested in the possibilities for use of precast concrete in tall building construction. Extensive case studies at the end of the Bulletin illustrate the benefits and applications discussed in the earlier chapters.