Computational Lightweight - Constructions High-Tech Architecture

The use of different light weight materials, such as engineered wood products (EWPs) and glass, makes it possible to implement nature-inspired and bio-based solutions in the building sector. An adaptive robotic fabrication process makes possible the necessary scaling-up and handling of the complex interrelations between the patterning shapes and the material behaviour. In contrast to repetitive manufacturing processes, where automation relies on the execution of predetermined and fully defined steps, sensing technology is employed to enable a workflow that synthesizes material computation and robotic fabrication in real time. In this process, the shape of the tailored work piece is repetitively scanned. The segments contain previously made connections in the form of markers that are tracked live to generate the robotic movement. A custom digital modelling design tool is used to derive a porous, undulating, triple-layered system that coherently integrates material properties, fabrication constraints and assembly sequences. The transfer of light-weight principles such as a high degree of differentiation of material and structure, in combination with the development of computational design, simulation, and fabrication methods, enables novel constructional typologies in architecture. Some contemporary case studies will be presented.