Gramazio Kohler Research

To deepen the knowledge gained in the elective course we examined the potential of a robot-based assembly of discrete wood elements in an architectural scale. For this purpose it was essential to enhance robotic operational capabilities from traditional industrial environments (limited to constant conditions) to the production of complex architectural components on site. The aim was to adapt the precision and speed of the robot to the complexity of real building conditions and to combine this with cognitive characteristics of the user. Here, the parking garage of the Department of Architecture at ETH Zurich proved as a suitable place where the character of a research laboratory could effectively be linked with that of a real construction site. As a consequence a complex wooden structure could be assembled with a mobile robot unit. The scale and modularity of the structure were directly derived from the surrounding spatial conditions. In fact, the geometrically differentiated assembly is based on the inherent stability of the overall structure, which consists of more than a thousand individually positioned wood members and is assembled without additional fasteners. From this, it is derived not only specific design and structural aspects, but also it is made possible a new form of articulation in digital fabrication processes in architecture.

Credits:

Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich

Collaborators: Luka Piskorec (project lead), Volker Helm, Selen Ercan, Thomas Cadalbert
Students: Johan Julius Petrus Aejmelaeus-Lindström, Leyla Ilman, David Jenny, Michi Keller, Beat Lüdi
Sponsors: Schilliger Holz AG


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