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.
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
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
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
The lecture by Mathilde Marengo, Head of Studio Operations at External References, offered an in-depth overview of how contemporary architectural practice operates at the intersection of computation, fabrication, storytelling, and experiential design. Rather than presenting technology as an isolated tool, Mathilde framed it as an integral part of design thinking. Digital tools, parametric workflows, and … Read more
This article presents my Workshop 1.2 individual assignment, which focuses on analyzing data and translating it into robotic movements to control an ABB IRB 6700-150/3.20 industrial robot equipped with a plastic pellet extruder for additive manufacturing. The core concept of the project involved studying the drying and shrinkage of the Aral Sea over time, extracting … Read more
IAAC Workshop led by the Professorship of Digital Fabrication | Technical University of Munich Faculty: Begüm Saral, Avishek Das and Pit Siebenaler Design Goals and Process When designing with the bricks, we began looking at their imperfections. We thought about using and exposing these defects as part of the material’s architectural expression. The idea focused … Read more
Robotic Brickwork Disassembly & Reassembly Enabled by Spatial Artificial Intelligence In this blog post, we’re sharing the project we built during the IAAC 2026 Workshop 2.2 with the Augmented Fabrication Lab. Our main goal was to move beyond just designing on a computer and actually work with robots and smart sensors in the real world. … Read more
In the following blog post, we will analyse the development of the concept of our project carried out in Workshop 2.1. Team Collaborative Workflow and Modular System Development Guide, in which a Rotatory Gantry structure is proposed for the flip-type movement of a robotic arm. AIRFLIP – Rotary Gantry System for Small-Scale Cobots Overview The … Read more
Robotic Coin Toss — Workshop Context This project was developed within the framework of MRAC Workshop 2.1, a hands-on workshop focused on collaborative workflows and modular system development in robotics. The workshop emphasizes not only technical experimentation, but also the process of working as a team using shared digital tools, version control, and structured documentation. As … Read more
This article presents our Workshop 1.2 project, which focuses on analyzing data and translating it into robotic movements to control an ABB IRB 6700-150/3.20 industrial robot equipped with a plastic pellet extruder for additive manufacturing. The core concept of the project involved studying the tsunami-related terrain and displacement data, extracting spatial and intensity-based information to … Read more
Context This exercise explores robotic fabrication processes through the direct manipulation of malleable materials. The assignment consisted of producing a 2.5D clay piece, measuring 40 × 40 cm with a maximum height of 5 cm, understood as a physical result of a robotically applied force on soft matter.Rather than designing a predefined form, the goal … Read more
Introduction In Anatomy of a Machine: Spill, we designed and built our own paint-spilling tools and worked with large robotic arms to create expressive, A0-scale paintings. Over the weeks, we tested movements with our hands, translated them into robotic trajectories, and refined both the tools and the resulting spill patterns. Using Arduino and laser-cut acrylic … Read more
Exploring Clay 3D Printing Through Viscosity, Speed, and Time For the Shape exercise within Anatomy of the Machine, we worked with clay as a material, specifically focusing on robotic 3D printing using clay extrusion. The objective was to understand how material behavior, robotic parameters, and geometry interact, and how form emerges from the machine–material relationship. … Read more
In the second exercise of Anatomy of a Machine, our goal was to understand how a robot expresses itself through material behavior. Instead of carving or shaping solids, we explored how liquid material behaves when actuated, accelerated, and released through a controlled spraying mechanism. “Spill” became a study of force, viscosity, height, angle, and timing … Read more
