Thinking and designing reversible structures with non-sequential assemblies

In the face of dwindling resources and to reduce the construction sector's carbon footprint, it is important to envisage the building's end of life. It is necessary to consider buildings and their structures as elements that can be dismantled/disassembled for recycling/reuse. To address these issues, this work focuses on non-sequential assemblies that allow reversibility. A full-scale Nexorade prototype has been produced and is used to illustrate the entire article demonstrating the relevance of these assemblies. The first part defines non-sequential assemblies and the multiple possible kinematics for an assembly. The second part focuses on the pavilion's geometry: the choice of the tessellation and its transposition to a nexorade. The article continues with the mechanical analysis, showing that tilting the beams by 30° reduces the deflection by 35%. The assembly sequence is then chosen to ensure that each node closes non-sequentially. Finally, the pavilion's construction is detailed, showing the transition from the digital to the physical model and the adjustment needed to switch between these two models. To conclude, the authors discuss the results obtained on non-sequential connections and the inclination of the beams of a nexorade. Possible extensions and improvements for future research are suggested.