Campbell, John & Zidek, Juliette 2016 Ryerson Report by Illinois School of Architecture

//Made_in_CODE A JOINT RESEARCH INITIATIVE ON ROBOTIC FABRICATION IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

JOHN CAMPBELL & JULIETTE ZIDEK Ryerson Fellowship Proposal 2016 Illinois School of Architecture

//Itinerary //LONDON, GB 07/18-07/22 Firms: Foster + Partners Academic: Architectural Association School of Architecture Institutions: V&A Museum, Tate Modern Notable Architecture: 2016 Serpentine Pavilion, BIG Tate Modern New Wing, Herzog & De Meuron Elytra Filament Pavilion, Achim Menges

//AMSTERDAM, NL 07/22-07/26 Firms: UNStudio Notable Architecture: Windmill Brewery, Unknown Banksy Artwork Exhibition, MoCo Museum

//BASEL, CH 07/26-07/27 Notable Architecture: Messe New Hall, Herzog & De Meuron

//ZURICH, CH 07/27-07/30 Firms: Gramazio Kohler Research Institutions: Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Swiss National Museum Notable Architecture: Pavilion of Reflections, Manifesta 11 (European Biennial for Contemporary Art) Interior of Kurt Schwitters: MERZ Galeri, Zaha Hadid Heidi Weber Pavilion, Le Corbusier The Beautiful Lake of Zurich, Unknown

//VENICE, IT 07/30-08/02 Institutions: Venice Biennale of Architecture

//AARHUS, DK 08/2-08/13 Program: AA Visiting School 2016, Rethinking Patterns: Exploring Heterogenic Structures (See program description) Lectures: David Reeves, Zaha Hadid Architecture Asbjรถrn Sondergaard, ODICO Robotics Vlad Tenu, Independent Designer / Professor at the Bartlett School of Architecture Andreas Klok Pederson, Partner at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)

//COPENHAGEN, DK 08/13-08/16 Notable Architecture: 8 House, BIG Amagerforbraending Ski Slope Power Plant, BIG Copenhagen Opera House, Henning Larsen

//Research Proposal Over the past decade, robotics and advanced computation have fundamentally altered the architectural design paradigm. In Architectural Design’s issue titled “Made by Robots: Challenging Architecture at a Larger Scale,” Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler write that “with robots, it is now possible to radically enrich the physical nature of architecture, to ‘inform’ material processes and to amalgamate computational design and constructive realization.” (Gramazio 14) Designers are empowered more than ever by their newfound control over manual production, allowed by an increasing accessibility to industrial robots. The open source nature of robotic fabrication now allows anyone to become an innovator in design and construction processes. The scope, role, and value of the designer have expanded; the designer is now the author of process. While most robotic fabrication experimentation has been relatively small in scale, larger scale applications are inevitable (as expanded upon in the related research appendix.) It is no longer a question of “if,” but “when,” the majority of fabrication and building construction will be entirely automated. In short, robots are changing the world and we intend to study the extent and implications of their impact on architectural design. “Robotic Fabrication in Architecture, Art and Design,” a publication collated by the Association for Robotics in Architecture, examines a sample of the growing body of research and experimentation in digital fabrication conducted by world renowned universities. This collective research examines topics from adaptive programming to composite building component fabrication to the design of robotic fabricated high rises. The extensive list of architecture and design schools featured in this book include the Harvard GSD, the Princeton University School of Architecture, the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, and the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (to name a few.) Recently recognized as one of the top universities in the world for architectural studies, the University of Illinois has the physical and technological infrastructure to join the discourse on robotic fabrication, but has yet to fully take advantage of it. There are countless institutions and organizations that perpetuate the advancement of robotic integration in architectural design by hosting lectures, conferences and workshops--thereby creating cross-disciplinary platforms for students and professionals to share their work. The ISOA can and should participate in this discussion concerning what Gramazio and Kohler call ”an adequate material practice for the cultural logic of the information age.” (Gramazio 21) We propose to facilitate the ISOA’s development of a robotic fabrication department by researching robotic technology as it pertains to the architectural design process and construction. In order to conduct this research, we plan to visit academic institutions with robust fabrication facilities, architectural and engineering firms involved in the research and development of robotic technologies, and fabricators that utilize industrial robots in their work. We also plan to participate in the Architectural Association’s Visiting School Program in order to work with industrial robots firsthand. Through our research, we hope to impart excitement and interest in robotic fabrication to the students and faculty of the ISOA. Our strategy to share our experience and studies abroad involves several components. First, we plan to document our travels in real time by posting pictures, videos, and exciting blurbs to various social media platforms, as well as maintain a daily blog. Upon returning to the United States, we will prepare a report outlining successful aspects of robotic research and development programs. We hope to frame our research so that it will support the continued development of similar programs at the ISOA. Finally, we would like to create an interactive, multimedia exhibit within the school to display the findings from our research and travels.

//AA Visiting School Program *The following information has been obtained from http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/STUDY/VISITING/Aarhus Aarhus Rethinking Patterns: Exploring Heterogenic Structures Wednesday 3 - Friday 12 August 2016 //Description The Aarhus Visiting School will build on the previous year’s theme of rethinking pattern in design and architecture, while investigating the affects of light through local manipulations of patterns and geometry. These investigations are driven through the use of computational tools and digital fabrication at different scales. This coming year, the research will expand on last year’s framework by focusing on the integration of robotic tools and how robotic manufacturing techniques will influence the future of design and fabrication in architecture. The AA_Aarhus Visiting School operates in collaboration with the Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark, and will use their state-of-the-art fabrication facility, which includes ABB robots. //Prominent Features of the workshop/ skills developed • Novel modeling and parametric techniques based on local ecological factors. • Introduction to new fabrication techniques that are becoming prevalent in the field of design & architecture. • Robotic fabrication in design • Discussions on new architectural processes and theories. • Applying theories that are highly applicable in contemporary praxis through computation. • Participants will gain new knowledge from leading researchers and theorists through the lecture series as a part of the workshop. //Location Arkitektskolen Aarhus Nørreport 20 8000 Aarhus C //Program Directors Ali Farzaneh Jens Pedersen //Biographies Ali Farzaneh is a PhD Candidate at the Architectural Association. He has worked at Coop Himmelb(l) au in Vienna and SOM in Washington DC and has taught architectural design at the University of Oklahoma and the AA Visiting School in Alexandria, Egypt. Jens Pedersen is working at the Parametric Applied Research Group at the AKT II. He is a graduate from the Aarhus School of Architecture, but also holds a Master’s Degree from the Emergent Technologies & Design Programme at the Architectural Association and has been teaching at a variety of intuitions in computational design. //Sponsors Architectural Association Aarhus School of Architecture Rhinoceros 2016 Program Work on Following Page

//Itinerary

//Destinations Each stop is highlighted on the following pages with images of significant architectural projects and/or selected blog entries from the trip.

aarhus

8/2-8/13

copenhagen

london

amsterdam

7/22-7/26

7/18-7/22

chicago

basel

7/26-7/27

zurich

7/27-7/30

venice

7/30-8/2

8/13-8/16

//London_01 V&A Museum: In London, we visited the V&A Museum to explore the Elytra Filament Pavilion, a robotically fabricated carbon-fiber pavilion designed and constructed by Achim Menges together with architect Moritz DĂśrstelmann, structural engineer Jan Knippers and climate engineer Thomas Auer. This pavilion is part of a biomimicry research project led by Menges at the University of Stuttgart and was designed to replicate the fibrous composition of a beetleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s forewing. Fibrous composites are prevalent in nature because they allow for structural efficiency in lightweight structures. The black carbon fiber and transparent fibers were woven by a robotic arm around a metal framework before being cured together to form a rigid system. The pavilion was exceptionally beautiful and succeeded in providing shade for the V&A visitors. Not only were the details of the structure elegantly crafted, but the complex geometry of the carbon-fibers cast intricate shadows around the pavilion, reminiscent of the dappling of a tree canopy. Not only was its fabrication and biomimetic design technologically innovative, but it created an enjoyable biophilic space.

Elytra Filament Pavilion

//London_02 Foster + Partners: The office was very impressive; sitting on the bank of the Thames, with floor to ceiling glazing, the view was impressive. What was even more astonishing, however, were the facilities, tools, and spaces for designing and making. Our guide for the day, Jan Dierckx, works as a part of the Special Modeling Group (SMG) which does a lot with modeling complex geometries that the project architects do not have the capacity to create. F+P is organized into 2 main areas; the architects/ designers, and the research group (of which Jan is a part of), made up of architects whose role it is to takes design intentions and realize them within fabrication and performative contexts. SMG utilizes Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, RhinoScript, and proprietary in-house developed plugins to create and analyze complex geometries. These analyzations include everything from structural and environmental to solar and egress efficacy. In addition to his role with the SMG, Jan also is afforded the time to dabble with robotics. He showed us his ‘baby’; a small sized robotic arm that he had attached light source to and turned into a heliodon. In the program that he created for it, any date and time can be input and the arm will move the light to a location in space, simulating the sun for that time. It’s his pet project, but also a project for the benefit of the firm as a whole. F+P encourages research within the confines of a project, but also outside of a project’s scope if it’s worthwhile. This is why Jan can experiment with robotic arms and his coworkers in the fabrication department can design drones in their free time. If F+P already seemed like its projects were well integrated across disciplines, then having a full time modeling and fabrication shop in the office is like putting the firm on steroids. They can produce quality models of design ideas quickly, professionally, and out of almost any material virtually overnight. This allows them to build full scale mockups of design ideas and actually test them. What this modeling shop does for F+P is provide designers with a powerful tool that they can go to at any time and receive design feedback from very quickly. The advantages of its onsite location cannot be overstated.

Tate Modern, New Wing

2016 Serpentine Pavilion

//Amsterdam_01 We had the great privilege of meeting with Harlen Miller and Filippo Lodi of UNstudio. Their office is located just east of the Museumkwartier, in a residential area less busy and tourist-filled than the central city area to the north. We had initially wanted to speak with UNstudio because we read about their recent collaboration with Studio RAP in the design and fabrication of a temporary play structure for the 2016 Building Holland Fair at RAI Amsterdam. In the design and fabrication of this structure, the design teams utilized a robotic arm to hot-wire cut ruled surfaces from EPS blocks. We wanted to know if UNstudio plans to do more research with robotics in the future, and if so, how they believe this technology can be implemented in building construction. In our conversation with Miller and Lodi, they revealed that they see robotic fabrication as a tool to be explored and utilized when given the opportunity but a tool among many others. Part of this opinion comes from the fact that UNstudio does most of their work in the private sector and does not currently partner with any universities to conduct ongoing research in fabrication technologies (as is the case at ETH and the University of Stuttgart.) The research they pursue is typically project specific or is driven with a particular product in mind, as is the case with their participation in the OSIRYS project, a research collaboration funded by the EU and focused on the development of a curtain wall and façade system that improves indoor air quality. In contrast to Foster + Partners, UNstudio’s research platforms refer to nominal categories for the research they produce rather than specific groups of people within their office’s organization. Their goal is to have advanced skillsets dispersed in each project team, as opposed to a physical delineation between specialists.

UNStudio

//Amsterdam_02 UNstudioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fabrication research encompasses robotics and other advanced technologies, but often looks to old models of production for inspiration. In our conversation, Miller mentioned that Amsterdam is known for producing the largest scale of carbon fiber sheets in the world so when a project calls for it, they have a reliable manufacturer to contact locally and collaborate with in fabrication. Miller and Lodi both noted that they are often approached by material or faĂ§ade system vendors that want them to utilize their material in a new and exciting way, to make an old product or technology innovative through its application. This was the case with Mitsubishi and their Alpolic ultra-light aluminum layered panels. While robotic fabrication in building construction is inevitable, Miller noted that right now there still remains a stark divide between research and practice. Robotic technologies and robotically fabricated products need to be rigorously tested load tested and fire tested before any client would realistically consider using them. Research and testing take money and time. But weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re optimistic!

UNStudio

//Basel

Messe New Hall

//Zurich_01 Gramazio Kohler Research Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office space was subdued and quiet, classroom-like, filled with computers and stacks of papers and 3d printed models everywhere. We were greeted by Romana Rust, a PhD researcher at ETH Zurich who is currently writing her dissertation involving the process of hot wire-cutting doubly curved surfaces with industrial robots. She took us into an adjacent office space another converted classroom (we were in a university building after all and charismatically led us through descriptions of all the current research projects underway by her team. As each project is led by a PhD candidate or former PhD student, we were lucky enough to have some project leaders explain their own projects in more depth. What impressed us most was the diversity of research topics being addressed from the feasibility of using drones to coordinate the construction of light-weight load-bearing structures to the robotic fabrication of spaceframe-like wire-mesh that can serve as both form work and reinforcement in poured concrete walls.

ETH

Not only do these projects develop new robotic processes, some of them also examine the implementation of these processes in field conditions. In our former write up about our visit with UNstudio, we touched on the large divide between research and practice in robotic fabrication. Kathrin Doerfler, another PhD researcher at ETH Zurich is involved in the development of robotic fabrication tools and processes that allow designers to operate robots adaptively in uncertain building environments. In order to ensure precision in construction, industrial robots must be equipped with robust sensory feedback mechanisms that allow either manual or automatic adjustment on site. This extremely complex topic will be important to pursue as more and more robotic fabrication processes are developed in lab conditions. After our introduction to the large breadth of

Manifesto 11 |

Pavilion of Reflections

//Zurich_02 work underway at the research office, Romana took us on a tour of their current facilities. We were informed that in one weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time, however, all of the computers and papers will be packed up and moved into a new building that will put a wider range of architectural researchers under one beautifully crafted, undulating, wooden truss roof. At this point, you probably could have guessed, but this beautiful roof was one of the many projects led by Gramazio Kohler Research. Additionally, this new facility will feature four collaborative industrial robots hung from a moving gantry system. Theoretically, one researcher could use all four robots at once one day and the next day all four could be utilized independently in four different projects. This is a powerful system. While we were only allowed a glimpse of the new facilities, we were quick to note the immense size of the space, roughly 30 by 60 meters. This new space will surely facilitate more collaboration and productivity than their group has ever seen.

ETH

Heidi Weber Pavilion

Kurt Schwitters: MERZ Galeri

//Venice_01

2016 Architecture Biennale

//Venice_02

//Aarhus

INAL PROTOTYPE // EXHIBIT @ DOKK1 The following work was completed from 08/02/2016 through 08/13/2016 as a part of the Architectural Association Visiting School program in Aarhus, Denmark. The focus of the program was to reimagine robotic manufacturing as a new method of fabrication in architecture. Placing construction techniques into the hands of designers provides unparalleled power in realizing design ideas quickly and true to concept. During the studio, groups designed and constructed EPS foam installations that using robotic arms with hot wire cutting attachments. At the termination of the studio, these installations were placed in a large gathering space within a local library for the public to interact with.

Trans[foam]ed

John Campbell David Stieler Mathias

producing many parts concurre Hex Vault

Juliette Zidek Satyam Satyam Guy Gardner Daniel Sneddon

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the art of mass customization//

To develop a set of rules for module aggregation, we looked at different joint angles and found that 120 degrees gave lent itself to hexagonal patterning. To create a more spatial structure, we designed connections between joints to occur at 90 degrees. By doing this, the cells are brought into the third dimension and the hexagonal module base works to create interesting packing evolutions.

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05 We encourage people to participate with the structure -- remove pieces, reinsert them, and 04 03 return later to find the structure Trans[foam]ed again by others.

digital design process

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the art of mass customization//

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RETHINKING PATTERNS: MOVING TOWARDS HETEROGENIC STRUCTURES

1. framing views

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AA_AARHUS VISITING SCHOOL 2016

//Trans[foam]ed

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//Hex_Vault AA_AARHUS VISITING SCHOOL 2016

PROCESS // SCRIPTING ROBOTIC CUTTING

RETHINKING PATTERNS: MOVING TOWARDS HETEROGENIC STRUCTURES

HEX VAULT the art of mass customization//

29 28

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18 17 HEX VAULT is designed to frame views to surrounding points of interest from DOKK1: Uni16 15 versitetsparken, Isbjerget, and Lystbadehavnen to the north; Jelshoj to the south. It 14 purposefully opens up toward the east to act as a threshold towards the Aarhus Bugt. 13 12 11

Team Members: Guy Gardner, Daniel Sneddon, Satyam Satyam,10 Juliette Zidek 09 08

side cut 1 >>

07 06 05 04 03 02

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5. sizing aperatures with attractors

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6. thickening cells for production

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retrieve foam cut block

PROCESS // FABRICATION

FINAL PROTOTYPE // EXHIBIT @ DOKK1

//Copenhagen_01

8 House

//Copenhagen_02

//Lectures_01 Lecture by David Reeves, Zaha Hadid Architects 8/3/16 David Reeves is a designer, programmer, researcher, and recurring instructor at the Architectural Association. He is a member of the Computation and Design (co|de) group at Zaha Hadid Architects and lectured the AA_ Aarhus Visiting School about his work there. He began the lecture by discussing the practice of design research, which was pioneered by German architect and structural engineer, Frei Otto, in the mid 20th century. At the time, Otto’s work was concerned with form finding experiments and the development of tensile structures. Today, ZHA (co|de) looks specifically at algorithms. The research performed by ZHA (co|de) occurs between projects with timelines that don’t fit into design delivery—however, the research is integrated into the firm’s design methodology with every new project. One small-scale project that embodies an algorithmic design methodology is the Stratasys, a 3D printed chair. Through topology optimization, a cyclical analysis process that loads masses and removes material or reduces material stiffness where it is not needed, the form and structure of the chair was designed and optimized. ZHA (co|de) was interested in a exploring a specific benefit of rapid prototyping—the ability to manipulate the infill structure and density with extreme precision (slice by slice)—to create veins of specific densities throughout the chair that efficiently utilize material and exude biomorphism in true Zaha fashion.

//Lectures_02 Lecture by David Reeves, continued Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal research looks at modifying relationships between objects through algorithms and imbedding decentralized intelligence in 3D models to generate unusual results. He is particularly fascinated with chemotaxis, a method of self-organization by which cells or organisms move in a direction corresponding to a gradient of increasing or decreasing concentration of a particular substance and affect these gradients through their movement. In nature, this type of behavior is exhibited by ants and that are attracted to the pheromones of other ants that are perpetually moving and re-organizing themselves. Digitally, this behavior can be modelled with simple, localized rules controlling the movement of individual components. This network of movement leads ants to build much more intelligent architecture than their individual intellectual capacity would allow, with inherent structural integrity and complex, yet efficient networks to allow necessary circulation. David looks at micro-networks to find applications to larger models, sometimes at the urban level. He has used Otto Freiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research into the minimal networks demonstrated by the behavior of soap firm and the Steiner Tree problem that approximates the minimal network between a series of points to model minimal networks algorithmically. This research has been applied in practice to airport and healthcare design and in modeling rules for program adjacencies.

//Lectures_03 Lecture by David Reeves, continued Another area of Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research that relates to both algorithmic modeling and digital fabrication is the topic of paneling and folding. For the 2012 Venice Biennale, ZHAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s folded metal installation was designed with a logic derived from chemotaxis research. For a metal panel to be curved and foldable, the unfolded geometry must be planar, quadrilateral faces with internal angles that sum to 360. To fold curved geometry digitally, vertices from each edge are scripted to follow a gradient of planarity to the next edge with a corresponding amount of force applied. The metal panels used for this installation were robotically fabricated by Robofold, a company that specializes in the digital fabrication of custom metal pieces. David discussed the topic of developing and working with meshes and their use in the design of another small-scale object, the Volu dining pavilion. This pavilion was designed to be constructed with developable, unrollable, singly curved surfaces that could be milled from a 2-axis CNC machine. Like the Stratasys chair, the form of the pavilion underwent topology optimization to removed material where it was structurally under-performing. The basic mesh geometry was softened to create more fluid, curvilinear form. Throughout the lecture, David emphasized the importance of retaining and structuring data in an intelligent fashion when dealing with algorithmic design. Through his lecture and our own design work at the Visiting School, we learned just how important data structures are when designing objects for fabrication.

//Lectures_04 Lecture by Asbjörn Sondergaard, ODICO Formwork Robotics 8/4/16 Asbjörn Sondergaard is a current PhDfellow at the Aarhus School of Architecture and the Chief Development Officer at Odico Formwork Robotics. He is interested in the correlation between structural efficiency and expressive design and is currently pursuing research in topography optimization pertaining to concrete structures in a project called Computed Morphologies. In his lecture, Asbjorn discussed the way in which robotic fabrication lends itself to realizing topologically optimized architectural designs. Oftentimes the geometry produced from such structural analysis is biomorphic, curvilinear and complex—not to mention inherently customized. Robots, however, are well-suited for mass customization because fabrication time is largely independent of iterative differences that are generated from algorithmic modeling. Robots are capable of more than hot-wire cutting EPS as well—Odico has engaged in cutting material such as marble with abrasive wire and Gramazio Kohler Research has utilized robots to lay brick and fabricate timber structures. Asbjorn’s particular interest in concrete construction stems from this material’s comparatively large carbon footprint and wasteful construction practices. Asbjorn shared that concrete is the most consumed material on the planet after water and 5-7% of global emissions each year stem from its use in construction. While today, most custom concrete formwork is CNC milled, transitioning this process to robotic hot-wire cutting could reduce fabrication time from several hours per sheet to several minutes. As an example, Odico consulted with Snohetta on the fabrication of the formwork for the SFMOMA and found that robotic hot-wire cutting the EPS formwork would reduce fabrication time from 1 year to 3 weeks.

//Lectures_05 Lecture by Asbjรถrn Sondergaard, continued Asbjorn vehemently believes that not only do robots offer efficient fabrication options, but their use in the profession give design control back to the designers who are now able to utilize and manipulate the advantages that these machines offer. He says that within ten years it will be commonplace to see industrial robots on construction sites, assisting architects in the realization of complex designs and replacing manual labor in some fields. Though this future seems to place construction workers at a disadvantage, Asbjorn expresses hope that craftsmen will be able to transition roles and become designers themselves. He also forsees the future of education to include a greater relationship between design and fabrication, turning architects of the future into masters of craft yet again.