Project Title RotoSupport – Research Project for the Development of Customized Rotationally Molded Concrete Columns with High Aesthetic Quality
Project Description
The project “Rotational Column” aims to develop a new manufacturing process for geometrically complex concrete columns.
Through the gentle rotation of the concrete, hollow bodies with high-quality concrete surfaces are created. The reduced amount of concrete required for producing these hollow forms decreases hydrostatic pressure, thereby enabling the use of lightweight, prestressed membranes as innovative and material-efficient formworks.

The project originated as a student research module by Samim Mehdizadeh, M.A., who is now a research associate and doctoral candidate at the Digital Design Unit. His project “Rotomoulding” was awarded first prize in the Heinz Stillger Award for Student Research at the Faculty of Architecture in 2017. Subsequently, he received support from the faculty’s Seed Fund in developing the research proposal that has now been successfully approved. The project exemplifies how a student research initiative can evolve into a comprehensive research project in collaboration with industry partners.

With “Rotomoulding”, Samim Mehdizadeh challenges conventional methods of concrete formwork construction. He develops concepts for modeling, simulation, and fabrication of rotationally molded, customized concrete hollow structures using resource-efficient and geometrically flexible formwork systems. The project’s innovation lies in rethinking the concreting process through the lens of digital fabrication. Instead of treating formworks as material-intensive, CNC-milled one-offs or developing complex mechanical-kinetic formwork tables, the project utilizes a type of concrete that can harden while in motion, in combination with thin-walled, flexible formwork materials.
Project Partners The project partners are the Digital Design Unit (DDU), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Oliver Tessmann, Faculty of Architecture, and the Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design (ISMD), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Knaack, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in cooperation with spannverbund GmbH.
Funding The project is funded by the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) with a total amount of €189,000.
Further Links: Digital Design Unit (DDU), Prof. Dr.-Ing Oliver Tessmann
Institut für Statik und Konstruktion (ISMD), Prof.-Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Knaack
spannverbund GmbH