The Master in Robotics and Advanced Construction (MRAC) seeks to train a new generation of interdisciplinary professionals who are capable of facing our growing need for a more sustainable and optimised construction ecosystem. The Master is focused on the emerging design and market opportunities arising from novel robotic and advanced manufacturing systems.
Through a mixture of seminars, workshops, and studio projects, the master programme challenges the traditional processes in the Construction Sector. It investigates how advances in robotics and digital fabrication tools change the way we build and develop processes and design tools for such new production methods.
Programme MAEBB 02 / MRAC 02 · 2024–2026 · Supervisor Valentino Tagliaboschi · Fabrication Sheikh Rizvi Riaz · Developed at IAAC Robotics Lab and Valldaura Labs , Barcelona This article continues the framework introduced in Immutable Concrete, the earlier phase of this work, in which the gate becomes an instrument an agent can use. The problem, restated Recycled-aggregate concrete is difficult to … Read more
Adaptive Framework for Hybrid Slicing Strategies in Large-Scale Robotic Fabrication of AI-Derived Architectural Systems
Robotic Fabrication of Small-Diameter Whole Timber for Construction Systems in a Plantation Forestry Context
When you’re building with a material that has no entry in a standard structural materials library, the first job isn’t drawing a frame, it’s defining what the material actually is. That was the starting point for the structural phase of our robotic needle-felted wool prototype: before we could ask Karamba to tell us anything useful … Read more
A Collaborative Human-in-the-Loop Clay Modelling System The Question What if anyone could sculpt a wall like an artist? That question sits at the center of Clay Create, a collective ceramic fabrication system where non-specialized users participate in the production of a wall of unique modules, each one manually shaped by a different person. The project … Read more
The goal of the workshop “From Matter to Model: Materials Intelligence” was to understand materials before designing with them, their properties, geometry and fabrication logic, in order to develop a column sculpture proposal composed of base, body and capital. As a hands-on exercise, we built a column of compressed earth blocks and lime mortar using … Read more
Faculty: Nacho Monereo & Prottay Roy ChowdhuryGuest Artist: Maria Mallo The project focused on creating a dynamic feedback loop between digital design, robotic positioning, and human craftsmanship. Instead of treating the robot as a fully autonomous machine, the workflow emphasized continuous interaction and mutual dependency between human and machine during fabrication. The installation was fabricated … Read more
Introduction This workshop explores new modes of architectural production through active collaboration between humans and robots, shifting away from traditional models of automation toward hybrid systems of shared decision-making. Rather than understanding the robot as a fully autonomous tool, it is framed as an agent that cooperates with the human in real time, creating a … Read more
Neuron is a project developed during the IAAC MRAC 3.1 Welding Workshop that explores human–robot collaboration in the assembly of space-frame structures. The project focuses on the interaction between a Universal Robots UR10e robotic arm and a human welder, working together to assemble pre-cut steel bars through a continuous exchange between robotic precision and human … Read more
Catalonia is 50.6% forest. Within that territory, Aleppo Pine and Common Beech offer two contrasting structural profiles that can be processed with minimal industrial transformation — provided the right techniques are recovered and updated. This mid-term review documents the first half of our Studio II research into robotic steam-bending: a workflow that pairs a vernacular … Read more
Col Ashwin – SITA (left) and Taisuke Minagawa (right) Col Ashwin – SITA Col Ashwin is a Senior Lead Enterprise Architect for the Barcelona SITA office and is originally from Kernow (Cornwall, UK). He has worked across the industry as an expert in Robotics, Open Source development, ROS development, Cybersecurity, Systems Engineering, and company compliance. … Read more
This work investigates the structural potential of straw in its raw, unprocessed state — exploiting its natural wilderness and fibrous friction to build systems from its inherent properties. By coupling these material behaviors with robotic fabrication, the process becomes parameterized, enabling a vernacular material to be deployed within a precise and predictable architectural system. Introduction … Read more
The lecture was conducted by Valentino Tagliaboschi, architect and building engineer whose career is situated at the intersection of computational design, digital fabrication, and robotics applied to architecture. Trained at the University of Pisa, his approach to the field is characterized by a methodology based on constant experimentation, iterative prototyping, and the intensive use of … Read more
Rethinking Robotics Through Experience Reflections on a lecture by Madeline Gannon Introduction “Somehow, someway, I have built a career out of misusing technology.” Madeline Gannon has spent over a decade working at the intersection of industrial robotics, art, and human interaction. This text presents a thematic synthesis of her lecture for the MRAC, followed by … Read more
This work explores how clay can be used to introduce compression strength into flexible surfaces. By using robotics for controlled deposition, the process becomes parameterised, allowing a traditional material to be developed into a precise and predictable building system. Introduction This project proposes a system that transforms a flexible surface into a rigid, three-dimensional structure. … Read more
Introduction Can centuries-old vernacular intelligence inform the future of robotic construction? Willow Protocols is a research project developed at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) that bridges traditional Catalan basketry techniques with advanced robotic fabrication. By re-evaluating historical construction methods like Zarzo and Wattle and Daub, this project proposes a highly sustainable, hyper-local … Read more
