Building Across Scales
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Project Description
The research presents a multiscalar robotic construction system to automate on-site timber construction. Specifically, it presents the next step in the automation of on-site gluing through the introduction of a robotic clamping device to press timber elements directly in the final location. This system allows for a point-supported timber slab of unlimited dimensions, which opens up more design flexibility in the floor plan and extends the architectural design space of timber buildings.
Geographical Scope
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Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
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Description of the project
Summary
The research proposes a heterogeneous multiscalar robotic construction system to further automate on-site timber construction. Specifically, it presents the next step in the automation of on-site gluing through the introduction of a custom robotic clamping device for the on-site pressuring of timber elements. Therefore at the core of the research, lies the development of the device as part of a larger robotic construction team including an industrial robot and a crane in co-design with the material and building system.
Engineered timber has opened up new possibilities in the way modern timber structures are built and designed. By simply stacking timber planks on top of each other and cross-laminating them together, it is possible to achieve strong bonding between the individual layers. However, due to transportation restrictions, these timber elements are limited in size, which therefore produces modular building pieces. Joining those pieces on-site creates a weak joint, consequently limiting the system to a linear span and resulting in a grid-based architecture. This research introduces an on-site fabrication system as a strategy to go beyond these limitations. Through the integration of construction logic into the material, it presents an approach to achieve high precision during assembly and automate the operation of a crane. Enabled by the robotic clamp it aims to continue the cross-lamination fabrication logic of engineered timber on-site to create a quasimonolithic slab. This allows for a point-supported timber slab of unlimited dimensions, which opens up more design flexibility in the floor plan and extends the architectural design space.
Key objectives for sustainability
The use of mass timber in architecture instead of concrete or steel has been largely discussed lately because of its potential to become a carbon sink. In other words, the CO2 that the trees capture could be captured and "stored" in the shape of buildings.
One of the main issues regarding this logic is that after a wooden building reaches the end of its life, it is really hard and expensive to disassemble and reuse its timber elements. The result is that most of those buildings end up in landfills. The problem here is that the wood from old buildings is not clean, it usually has multiple metallic connections embedded, which makes it impractical to remove all of it. And wood with metals inside is hard to machine because a simple screw left behind can damage a sawing blade.
This project presents a method to build with mass timber using only glue. Meaning that at the end of the building's life it could be cut down like a tree. Resulting in a faster disassemble and wood that could be readily reused.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The research starts with the biomimetic idea that in nature "geometry is cheap and material is expensive" in other words, nature uses material where it is structurally necessary. This building system follows this logic, the timber is placed where the structure goes through high stresses, which results in a mushroom-like aesthetics.
In addition, the process of on-site gluing results in a slab with holes, which can be used as a design feature to embed light fixtures.
Key objectives for inclusion
The research is based on a computational design framework that can be used by anyone considering their infrastructure limitations. For example, the size of trucks available to transport each timber element, the CNC machines in the surrounding communities, the kind of glue available, etc. All of those factors are integrated into a really intricated co-design method (see image 02)
Results in relation to category
We move the research further into the direction of reusing mass timber at the end of a structure's life.
How Citizens benefit
This is the result of a Master's thesis, thus it has not involved citizens.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
To glue timber on-site the current mainstream method uses screws. The problem is that it is too expensive to remove all the screws after the glue is dry, this results in "dirty wood", which is difficult to reuse afterward.
State-of-the-art research proposes methods of automating the screwing process using big clumsy machines that need to be transported and connected using long cables. But it still doesn't solve the issue of removing the screws. This research remove the need for screws altogether, using only small devices that can be reused many times.
Learning transferred to other parties
This research opens up a new and more efficient way to design and build using mass timber. Even if the context doesn't have the automation available in Germany, it still has great computational design developments that can guide even manually assembled timber constructions. The distribution of material where it is structurally needed, the scalability, and the development of a custom robotic device extend the architectural design space.
We are still studying where to apply our research but we aim to publish it in conferences and journals in the field of architecture, design, and material science related to computational design.
