formwork

[ fawrm-wurk ]

noun

1. the structure of boards, bolts, etc., composing a form for poured-concrete or rammed-earth construction.

formwork

/ ˈfɔːmˌwɜːk /

noun

1. an arrangement of wooden boards, bolts, etc, used to shape reinforced concrete while it is setting Also called (esp Brit)shuttering

Word History and Origins

Origin of formwork¹

First recorded in 1915–20; form + work

Example Sentences

Construction began on the pavilion in 2020 and is currently in “Phase 3” — creating the building shell, installing large windows and making formwork for habitats — according to the aquarium’s website.

From Seattle Times

When Andrade began casting the house’s first concrete columns and lintels in 2013, plywood formwork also began appearing in his artistic practice.

From New York Times

With the seven-foot sled half inside the tent, Ousland took a four-inch formwork nail, chosen for its double-head that makes for a surer grip with a Leatherman, and heated it over a stove flame.

From National Geographic

She says there is a small, budding revival of the technique among a younger generation of Spanish architects, and their local bricklayers have done an impressive job – connecting the bricks to each other one at a time with sticky gesso mortar, miraculously suspended in air, without the need for scaffolding or formwork.

From The Guardian

It looks like a labour-intensive process, but it was relatively cheap, quick and efficient; the architects say that a vaulted brick staircase can cost half the price of a concrete stair, because you don’t have to close the road for a cement truck or build wooden formwork, and the bricks can be carried and quickly laid on site by a couple of people.

From The Guardian