This seminar explores the intersection of traditional craft and advanced robotic processes through the practice of trencadís, the Catalan technique of creating mosaics from arbitrarily broken pieces of ceramic tiles. Across two terms, students will bridge craft knowledge with computational design and robotic fabrication.

In the first term, students will participate in an intensive bootcamp that combines hands-on making with digital experimentation. By working directly with ceramic fragments, they will study the principles of trencadís fragmentation, pattern, and assembly while also learning how to integrate these principles into computational design workflows.

To connect material practice with robotic processes, the seminar introduces sensing and reconstruction techniques using a structure light scanning system to capture the geometry of mosaic pieces. These scanned geometries are then translated into digital models, which guide the UR10 robot in positioning and assembling the mosaics according to student generated designs.

The workshop emphasizes the integration of sensing, robotic control, and design thinking, enabling students to reframe traditional mosaic techniques within a parametric and robotic fabrication pipeline.

Learning Objectives
At course completion the student will:

• Recognize the principles of trencadís as a method of working with fragments, patterns, and material assemblies.
• Operate core components of a robotic fabrication pipeline, including 3D scanning, data processing, and generating code for robotic control.
• Explore how manual processes can be expressed through parametric and computational design approaches.
• Apply computational design strategies to generate and manipulate complex mosaic patterns.
• Synthesize physical and digital workflows to design and fabricate a final project that integrates the main concepts of the course.