At the Bucky Lab of TU Delft, students explore how material manipulation can expand the possibilities of façade design. The project Kerfed Facades investigates how a traditional fabrication technique—kerfing—can be used to transform rigid sheet materials into flexible surfaces capable of creating complex architectural forms.
Kerfing involves strategically cutting patterns into sheet materials in order to reduce stiffness and introduce controlled flexibility. By adjusting the geometry, density and orientation of these cuts, flat panels can be bent and shaped into fluid, curved forms without losing their structural integrity. This technique opens new possibilities for architects who seek to integrate expressive geometries into façade systems while working with relatively simple materials and fabrication methods.
The project explores how computational design tools can be used to generate kerfing patterns that respond to specific curvature requirements. Parameters such as pattern density, radius, and cut offset allow designers to precisely control how a material behaves when bent. Through this parametric approach, the team was able to create a series of patterned panels capable of forming smooth, continuous freeform surfaces.
As part of the Bucky Lab prototyping process, the students developed a physical façade prototype that demonstrates how kerfed panels can be mounted onto a supporting frame structure. The prototype illustrates how patterned sheet materials can produce both structural flexibility and visually dynamic façade surfaces, offering architects a way to combine fabrication logic with expressive geometry.
Developed within the Bucky Lab at TU Delft, the project highlights how digital design tools and simple fabrication strategies can work together to expand architectural expression. By rethinking how rigid materials can behave through controlled cutting patterns, the project demonstrates a promising approach for future freeform façade systems.
Students: Fjodor Serov, Lucas Stolk, Timo Meester, Rens Jansen, Tom Henriksson
Supervisors: Dr.-Ing. Marcel Bilow, Ir. Nadia Remmerswaal, Ir. Hugo Nagtzaam
Sponsor: Aldowa
Projects like Kerfed Facades show how experimentation in the Bucky Lab continues to push the boundaries between material behaviour, digital design and façade innovation.
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