This Master Thesis proposes a shift from the established architectural delivery as a linear process towards a cyclical adaptive process that challenges the typical separation of design, fabrication, and assembly. Using the example of a segmented timber plate structure, the process incorporates the interactive design, the subtractive robotic fabrication, and the robotic assembly into a responsive feedback loop.
By constantly updating the digital design model from the physical as-built geometry through vision sensing, the design reacts to environmental variables, perceived tolerances, and machine and fabrication constraints. The resulting cyber-physical system for architectural production allows the user to monitor and adjust the design and, by consequence, the whole production process in real-time.
Project Gallery
ITECH M.Sc. Thesis Project 2015: Assembly Agency - Adaptive Fabrication and Assembly of Segmented Timber Plate Structures
Julian Höll
Thesis Advisers: Tobias Schwinn, Lauren Vasey, Ehsan Baharlou
Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Achim Menges
Second Supervisor: Prof. Jan Knippers