Scutoids for blockwork

Ok. Let’s define a scutoid. It’s a long tall shape, with a pentagon at one end, a hexagon at the other, and one corner snipped off. See the first image below. They are used in nature as a packing solution that interlocks and flexes in a way that hexagons can’t.

Why are they interesting in architecture? They are a simplish shape that are ideal for ‘Print, Prep then Assemble’ workflows, such as clay units that must be dried to be strong enough, and need to be small enough to move into place once dry. The interlocking may give rise to improved geometric stability and energy dissipation under load, or simply beat arches at their own game.

Image extracted from Figure 1 of https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-05376-1

Kevin Gata, Caitlin T. Mueller and Ernesto Valiente have explored their use for flat vaults. This has been followed by similar work in vaults and tubes, although sadly not explicitly into scutoids. The work of Mirkhalaf in ceramic octahedrons looks very similar, and his interlocking index could be a useful approach to quantify the scutoid design without complex interlocking calculations. This research space remains open.