ABSTRACT
Freeform is a formwork system developed for the construction of Aqua, an 82-story tower designed by Studio Gang Architects in Chicago, Illinois. The system allowed for the construction team to pour 82 unique floor perimeters. The material parameters for this system include a variety of details necessary for pouring each floor plate and for tying it back to the consistent column grid. The table-form column-hung shoring system, used to pour each floor plate, was able to cantilever without transferring any load to the floor below, only back to the column grid. This scaffolding system, used as both the construction surface and the surface for the pour of each floor, was attached to the column grid allowing the loads of each pour to be designed for their final load not their construction load. The geometry of the system is developed from the initial surfaces, which Studio Gang designed.
