The project refers to active wood bending using robotic manufacture with a facade being the final aim of the exploration. The procedure is divided into three stages starting by streaming the wood, bending it with the use of the robot and finally mounting it in a position until the material gets back it rigidity. The investigation started with an analogue approach by steaming the wood then bending it with our hands on a fixed structure while it gradually evolved to a fully robotic process.
Using robotic force while respecting the properties of the material outcomes were immense in terms of production, accuracy and overall quality. Starting from two dimensional to more complicated three dimensional bends we created a catalogue of design possibilities ready to be applied on this challenging task of re-design the facade of Plug-in building by Mia’s architects.
This study opens the discussion of how wood bending using robots can have a different architecture impact, reconsidering the role of the architect, his/her tools and suggesting ways which robots can co-exist in the construction spectrum of the 21st century.
An exploration by Roberto Vargas, Cedric Droogmans and Alex Varvantakis.
