Case Study: Aarhus School of Architecture achieves up to 70% material savings and reduced environmental impact with Altair HyperWorks

Danish Team Uses HyperWorks to Prove the Value of Topology Optimization for Concrete Architectural Structures

Aarhus School of Architecture led the Unikabeton research project to test whether simulation-driven topology optimization could be applied to concrete architectural structures and coupled with robotic fabrication of polystyrene formwork. The team faced a cultural and technical challenge: architecture’s conservatism about relinquishing design control to CAE tools and the need to combine structural optimization with fabrication and aesthetic requirements. They selected Altair’s HyperWorks suite (including OptiStruct) to explore this shift.

Using Altair’s integrated HyperWorks tools—OptiStruct for topology optimization, HyperMesh for FE modeling and HyperView for post‑processing—the team optimized both discrete members and a full-scale 12 × 6 × 3.3 m doubly curved slab prototype with CNC‑milled EPS formwork. Altair’s tools delivered a 60–70% reduction in material usage versus standard equivalents while meeting normative structural requirements, cutting environmental costs (concrete production/transport) and reducing design time, with recyclable polystyrene formwork and validated fabrication workflows.

Aarhus School of Architecture

Asbjørn Søndergaard

Coordinator of Digital Experimentation