RoboCraftersResearch

PIONEERING ROBOTIC MANUFACTURING IN BIOGENIC CONSTRUCTION

Our project addresses a key challenge in modern architecture: the global shift towards sustainable and rapidly regrowing materials such as reed, hemp and straw. Currently, their wider adoption in the construction industry is limited by the intensive manual labour required and the lack of craftsmen skilled in utilising these materials. We aim to overcome these barriers by developing robotic manufacturing techniques for efficient and cost-effective processing of biogenic materials into building elements such as roofs, façades, insulation panels or interior finishing. Ultimately, we expect the widespread adoption of sustainable materials to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of future buildings. To ensure the feasibility of this pilot project, however, we will focus specifically on robotic manufacturing of façade cladding.

We will address the co-design-based development of methods, processes and systems for bio-genic façade systems for the most common architectural type: multi-storey buildings, such as residential and office buildings, which pose the challenge of a high level of integration. The project aims to provide novel strategies to scale the application of low-embodied energy façade systems through integrative computational design methods and digital fabrication processes.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Prof. Achim Menges
Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD), University of Stuttgart

RESEARCHERS

Hans Jakob Wagner (ICD)
Edgar Schefer (ICD)
Tim Stark (ICD)
Simon Treml (ICD)

PARTNERS

Jakob Strømann-Andersen
Director, Innovation and Sustainability, Henning Larsen Architects, Copenhagen, DK
Mariusz Hermannsdorfer
Head of Computational Design, Henning Larsen Architects, Copenhagen, DK

FUNDING

Ramboll Foundation