The Formworker

The formworker is an ideal for concrete creation were roles are blurred and the process of forming and casting concrete is not segregated through its stages. The concept is borne out of innovative research in fabric formwork where cross pollination of skills and concepts from the tailoring, fashion and textile industries are combined in the construction of concrete forms. To fully fuel the adoption of fabric formwork in the industry, to transform it from a proven yet novel research technique to a universally accepted formwork method there is a necessity for collaborative thinking, joining up each phase of concrete’s construction, through design, formwork fabrication and casting. To that extent it is proposed that we need to consider a new skillset, the formworker, one who combines the knowledge of the complete process of concrete creation from design to final cast form, one who is not afraid to explore new technologies and methodologies. The paper presents an argument for acknowledging the role of the formworker through the evaluation of the methods and practices involved in exemplar research into fabric formwork.