Abstract
The paper presents a future architectural detailing strategy enabled by the design of functionally graded materials (FGM). In specific, our proposal suggests the possibility of removing mechanical fasteners and adhesives from joint details. This is achieved by combining the principles of interlocking joineries found in traditional timber structures and current Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing (MMAM) technology to materialise FGMs. FGM belongs to a class of advanced materials characterised by variation in properties as the dimension varies by combining two or more materials at a microscopic scale (Mahamood et al. 2012). FGM is ubiquitous in nature and, when properly designed, can exhibit superior performance characteristics compared to objects comprised of homogeneous material properties. With the aim of developing interlocking details with improved performance, reliability, and design flexibility, we focus on controlling material stiffness, joint fitting, and geometry through the design of the microscopic material layout. A case study design will be presented to illustrate the process.