Fabrication | Hybrid Workshop | English | Asia-Pacific
Description:
In this workshop, a selected group of international and interdisciplinary participants will investigate novel potentials for wood architecture that arise at the intersection of computational design and mobile, platform-based robotic timber construction. The effective design of spatial timber structures is currently limited to transportation constraints of standardised, prefabricated mostly linear elements. An on-site robotic fabrication platform, allows the construction of timber structures that break free from these constraints. Based on the possibilities of such mobile robotic construction process we will explore novel design opportunities and new architectural typologies of three-dimensional, adaptive spatial glulam structures.
Participants will learn to use exploratory computational design methods, structural topology-optimization tools, tools for the tectonically defined geometrical definition of building element assemblies and tools for integrated robotic simulation and subsequent robotic code generation. The workshop will be split into three parts. First, participants will be introduced into the topics of wood architecture and project- and platform based robotic timber construction. Second, in skill-up sessions the participants will then be taught the digital tools for computational design and fabrication simulation. Last but not least, the core part of the workshop will then be the development of individual design explorations in small groups with a focus on digital collaboration tools and the design exploration of the proposed building system in various contextual scenarios.
The workshop will conclude with a comprehensive catalogue of design possibilities that arise from the proposed design methods and construction processes. In parallel the fabrication system will be tested through the construction of a full-scale demonstrator at Tongji University. After participation students will have a good understanding of emergent technologies and architectural design opportunities in computational timber construction.
Key Words:
Computational Design,Robotic Fabrication,Timber Construction,
Required Skills:
Advanced Rhinoceros, Advanced Grasshopper
Required Software:
Rhinoceros 6 or 7, Google Drive, Discord
Required Hardware:
PC
Maximum number of participating students:
20
Participants will learn to use exploratory computational design methods, structural topology-optimization tools, tools for the tectonically defined geometrical definition of building element assemblies and tools for integrated robotic simulation and subsequent robotic code generation. The workshop will be split into three parts. First, participants will be introduced into the topics of wood architecture and project- and platform based robotic timber construction. Second, in skill-up sessions the participants will then be taught the digital tools for computational design and fabrication simulation. Last but not least, the core part of the workshop will then be the development of individual design explorations in small groups with a focus on digital collaboration tools and the design exploration of the proposed building system in various contextual scenarios.
The workshop will conclude with a comprehensive catalogue of design possibilities that arise from the proposed design methods and construction processes. In parallel the fabrication system will be tested through the construction of a full-scale demonstrator at Tongji University. After participation students will have a good understanding of emergent technologies and architectural design opportunities in computational timber construction.
Schedule:
Jun 27 - Jul 2
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Day 1 / Jun 27
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Day 2 / Jun 28
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Day 3 / Jun 29
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Day 4 / Jun 30
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Day 5 / Jul 1
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Day 6 / Jul 2
Instructors:
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Philip F. Yuan Prof,Associate Dean, CAUP, Tongji UniversityPhilip F. Yuan Associate Dean, tenured professor of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) at Tongji University, Council Member of Architects Sector, Virtual and Automated Construction Sector as well as Academic Committee of Computational Design Sector at Architectural Society of China; Director of Academic Committee of Shanghai Digital Fabrication Engineering Technology Center; Co-Chair of DigitalFUTURES Association. He founded Shanghai based firms: Archi-Union Architects and Fab-Union Technology. Yuan is also a member in the Scientific Committee of The International Association on Spatial Structures (IASS) and the International Conference on 3D Printing and Transportation3D Printing and Transportation (3DTRB). His research mainly focuses on the field of performance-based architectural tectonics, the application of robotic fabrication equipment as weak as developments of robotic fabrication technologies and is able to realize many of his research theories in architectural practices. -
Achim Menges ICD University of Stuttgart,DirectorAchim Menges is a registered architect in Frankfurt and full professor at the University of Stuttgart, where he is the founding director of the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) and the director of the Cluster of Excellence Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (IntCDC). In addition, he has been Visiting Professor in Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and held multiple other visiting professorships in Europe and the United States. He graduated with honours from the Architectural Association, AA School of Architecture in London, where he subsequently taught as Studio Master and Unit Master in the AA Graduate School and the AA Diploma School. -
Hans Jakob Wagner ICD University of Stuttgart,Research Group LeaderHans Jakob Wagner is a research group leader at the ICD – University of Stuttgart and runs the Computational Wood Architecture Group. As a ligno-centric design research technologist he works at the intersection of computational design methods, robotic construction processes and advanced wood building systems. He played a key role in award winning projects such as the BUGA Wood Pavilion and the ITECH Research Pavilion 2016-17. He graduated with distinction from the ITECH Master Program in 2017 after studying Architecture at Vienna University of Technology. He worked at leading architectural firms in Vienna and Paris and published, taught and presented internationally. -
Hua Chai Tongji University,PostDocHua Chai is a Postdoc researcher in College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) of Tongji University. His research focuses on computational design and robotic fabrication in advanced timber structures. He received a Doctoral degree of Architecture from Tongji University. In 2020, he visited the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) at the University of Stuttgart for one year as a guest researcher. He has been involved in leading several international workshops on robotic timber construction including DigitalFUTURES and ACADIA 2020. -
Tim Stark Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD),Research AssociateTim Stark is a Research Associate at the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) at the University of Stuttgart. His current research project “Robotic screw press gluing” focuses on the industrial development of high-performance and adaptive, digitally manufactured adhesive joints in wood construction and is funded by the “Forschungsinitiative Zukunft Bau (BBSR)”. Tim holds a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from the University of Applied Sciences in Augsburg as well as a Master of Science in Integrative Technologies and Architectural Design Research (ITECH) from the University of Stuttgart. His master’s thesis “Joint Effort - Robot team enabled carbon fibre joining strategies for lightweight wood construction“, which he developed together with his colleagues Simon Lut and Lasath Siriwardena demonstrated the benefits of co-designing a component, joint and robotic system to establish a load-bearing, robot-specific and connection-driven building system.