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.
Context Architecture, in general, is the least optimized industry. This results in more workload and less output. Hence the productivity rate is negative 1.4. In the furniture industry, even loose or modular furniture, typically expected to have quicker turnaround times faces significant delays due to the manual nature of customization and the complexity of matching … Read more
An Intersectional Investigation Robotics is the field of study focused on the research and application of robotic systems. This definition, however, doesn’t provide much insight. So, what is a robot? Robots are machines that can operate autonomously or through programmed input to perform specific tasks, often replacing human effort. These tasks are typically complex and … Read more
1 | INTRODUCTION What is willow weaving and why do it with a robot? Willow weaving as a robotic operation needs to be understood in context. Our archaeological records date bake basket weaving back over 14000 years, older than pottery. An ancient craft that is practiced today in virtually the same way that it has … Read more
Playscape is a pavilion designed for children, crafted through robotic fabrication and guided by the principles of discrete architecture. The project utilizes timber offcuts—irregular remnants from the construction industry—as the primary material, transforming waste into a functional and playful architectural form. For this workshop, the material provided consisted of irregular wooden beam offcuts which served … Read more
Team member(s)：zeyu chao, Elizabeth.frias.martinez，Chi.Lee 3Dprint pavilion Introduction This project explores the large-scale robotic clay printing of a pavilion, with the geometry divided into four equal segments. The chosen geometry, Segment 1, was further developed into modular units to optimize the construction process. The modular approach allows for efficient fabrication and assembly, enhancing the structural and … Read more
The Software-I seminar introduces computational design strategies for robotic fabrication, focusing on the software aspects of these processes. The following exercises cover different manufacturing strategies that translate digital models into buildable forms through precise toolpath development and simulation. These include an end-to-end process from conceptual design to the generation of fabrication files for robotic systems, … Read more
Building on the principles of disassembly explored last semester, this phase of the Timber Narratives project delves deeper into advanced data-driven design strategies. We now capture and utilize timber colour values through enhanced scanning technologies, integrating this data into our designs. Additionally, we’ve implemented machine learning with logistic regression for precise categorization of timber for … Read more
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR BESPOKE ACOUSTIC DIFFUSER DESIGN A considerable amount of construction and wood waste is generated each year, mostly landfilled or burned for energy, contributing to severe environmental effects. The management of this waste is a significant challenge as it is often not suitable for secondary use. In this context, the circular economy concept … Read more
State of the Art and Minimum Value Proposition There is an overstocking of small to medium trees over Europe due to poor firing and soil cultivation conditions, most of this trees have the diameter of 10-25 cm and depending on the species and cultivation conditions some of then are crooked and can’t be used by … Read more
Leveraging Computer Vision for Sustainable Design with dimensional waste timber Building upon the established design principles of disassembly explored in the prior semester, Timber Narratives this semester investigated the potential of computer vision and image analytics to further optimize material conditioning and manufacturing processes for dimensional waste timber. This iterative approach aimed to integrate data-driven … Read more
State of the Art Raw Timber and AEC Industry Wood waste is often disregarded in the wood industry and the construction industry. Majority of wood used in construction is sawn and processed wood that not only generates waste on its production but it is also associated with high CO2 emissions, because of the embodied energy … Read more
Aim To develop a modular system for seamless automated assembly and disassembly, specifically tailored for the reclamation and repurposing of planar, semi-standardized waste materials ,and also to foster circularity by maximizing resource efficiency and ensuring a sustainable end-of-life use for products within the system. Context State of the art Methodology Assembly and disassembly process by … Read more
Stack Lamination: Exploring the Intersection of Subtractive and Additive Manufacturing Brief: This workshop was conceived with the aim of familiarizing participants with the procedural intricacies of Stack Lamination milling, employing an Industrial KUKA robot arm. The methodology encompassed the integration of both digital and conventional fabrication approaches. We engaged in practical applications of 3-axis CNC … Read more
Exploring the Intersection of Subtractive and Additive Manufacturing In the pursuit of challenging manufacturing norms and pushing the boundaries of creativity, our team delved into the intricate world of stack lamination during the recent workshop. Focused on creating functional and visually stunning furniture pieces for a potential cafeteria in Barcelona, our journey unfolded through three … Read more
During this one week workshop we explored the combination of stack lamination and 5 axis robotic milling for the speculative production of furniture for the new IAAC cafe. As a group we conceptualized and developed 3 items of furniture that could be produced using stack lamination. Each design was rationalized to make use of a … Read more
The construction industry has shown an increasing interest in adapting to more environmentally friendly materials, with wood gaining popularity as a natural and sustainable option for buildings. However, the wood industry contributes a significant percentage of energy consumption during the entire wood lifecycle, encompassing tree cutting, transportation to sawmills, and delivery to construction sites. Additionally, … Read more
Discrete Assemblies with Gilles Retsin Introduction How can primordial components be aggregated to form complex structures, that are at once easy to assemble and comfortable to live in? This was the question that defined our workshop with instructor Gilles Retsin. During the workshop, Gilles introduced us to his system of assembling buildings from discrete components. … Read more
Post Tension wood is a project created in different steps. Extracting logs from trees from 12 – 15 diameters, this project scans each piece with the purpose of optimizing the fabrication and reducing the waste. Workflow Set Up & Calibration Production plan
This project focuses on creating a workflow and a tool to automate the design process with irregular wood offcuts.
The state of the art shows our pursue to develop organic geometries using Hyperboloid as design geometry The design takes advantage of the offcuts grain to create a rigid waffle-like structure. Horizontal and vertical members and then connected through notches and screws to stiffen the system. The outer horizontal members of this grid present bark … Read more
