Archinect - News

Robotic fabrication and hybrid structural systems are showcased in the University of Stuttgart's new ITECH Pavilion

2024-10-04T18:52:00-04:00

A team of researchers led by Achim Menges of the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) and Jan Knippers of the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the University of Stuttgart has unveiled a new pavilion made using a novel combination of bio-based materials.

The hybrid structural system behind the ITECH Research Pavilion 2024 is composed of timber and natural flax fiber polymer composites (or NFPCs). Menches and his colleagues were guided by recent research into fiber-polymer composites. The complete assembly works via the compressive strength of timber and tensile properties.

Image courtesy of ITEK and ICD at the University of Stuttgart

The pavilion was erected within the university’s Stadtgarten. It covers an area of roughly 484 square feet and weighs almost 2,130 pounds. The pavilion's structural capacity was shown to be capable of withstanding 1.5 times its own weight and 1.5 times the outside wind load.

Image courtesy of ITEK and...

Neri Oxman announces formation of OXMAN research practice in NYC

2024-09-27T15:41:00-04:00

Neri Oxman, the former MIT professor and winner of the 2018 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, has launched a new operation called OXMAN and based in New York City.

Promising a "radical new species of design practice," Oxman, who is collaborating with Foster + Partners on the realization of its 36,000-square-foot space on 11th Avenue in Manhattan, described it as a "design and innovation company that creates new technologies, products, and environments across a range of scales and applications, from the molecular to the urban scale."

Image: courtesy of OXMAN

Initiatives will be pursued in three main project areas and their corresponding platforms. Throughout, a press announcement for OXMAN states, the project will advocate for "synergy between biology and technology, moving towards products and buildings that are designed for the immediate and long-term well-being of human civilization and the natural world."

Photo: Nicholas Calcott, Courtesy of OXMAN

The first, Oo (pronounced 'O-Ze...

Innovative mass timber Wangen Tower opens in southern Germany

2024-05-22T17:16:00-04:00

University of Stuttgart professor Achim Menges has shared details of a new research-led observation tower project called Wangen Tower after its realization earlier this month at the regional garden showcase Landesgartenschau Wangen im Allgäu in southern Germany.

The project is a collaboration between the university's Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) and Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE) at the university.

Image: © ICD/ITKE/IntCDC University of Stuttgart (Photo: Nina Baisch)

Image: © Roland Halbe

Menges’ eight-member team worked with Prof. Dr. Jan Knippers and Gregor Neubauer to produce the prototype using CNC milling techniques and curved CLT panels. The result is a durable, high-performance structure made from locally sourced renewable materials as well as the first-ever built example of a multi-level building made using self-shaped structural timber components.

Image: © ICD/ITKE/IntCDC University of Stuttgart (Photo: Christoph Mo...

VolvoxLabs opens internship combining digital fabrication, media, and immersive environments

2024-02-14T17:58:00-05:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Graphics/Multimedia Editor at The New York Times, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Physical Design + Fabrication Internship at VolvoxLabs.

The role, based in Brooklyn, NY, calls for an individual who is “passionate about technology-embedded installations, digital fabrication techniques, parametric design, and exploring new technologies in fabrication.” Among the qualifications sought after in internship applicants are basic digital fabrication knowledge and shop skills, alongside knowledge of 3D modeling software.

TETRA / KINETIC SCULPTURE by VolvoxLabs

Why the role interests us

The open role at VolvoxLabs offers us the opportunity to explore the work of a studio grounded in the intersection between digital and physical space. With a team spanning artists and technologists, the studio has built a portfolio of contemporary art installations and immersive environ...

Carlo Ratti Associati blends old and new with the theories of Piranesi for its latest Italian design

2023-07-19T18:57:00-04:00

Carlo Ratti Associati has unveiled design details for its latest hospitality sector collaboration with Italo Rota located at the Monferrato UNESCO World Heritage site in Italy.

The studio’s new Roccia project reimagines a hilltop former monastery site in Piedmont into a new residential complex. The project relies on LIDAR scans to enable a new digitally-fabricated timber skin to be inserted amongst the 400-year-old brick ruins. CRA says this element of their design strategy “suggests a new approach for renovating historical buildings" while resolving a “harmony” between the natural and artificial.

Image render courtesy Carlo Ratti Associati

The team describes: "Roccia – the Italian word for “rock” – is a hilltop monastery-turned-farmhouse in the heart of the Piedmontese countryside. The site has been in decay since a fire broke out in the early 20th century. Decades of neglect have further deteriorated the bricks and invited moss, ivy and saplings to set in. Its current conditions ev...

Joseph Choma will become the next Director of the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University

2022-04-01T17:46:00-04:00

Clemson University’s Joseph Choma has been announced as the next Director of the School of Architecture at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

Choma is currently the Director of the Design Topology Lab and has been the Director of Clemson’s Master of Science in Architecture program since July. Choma will take office effective July 1st and replaces Associate Professor Francis E. Lyn, who has been serving as Interim Director.

Earlier on Archinect: Joseph Choma explains why folding is important to the field of architecture

His work centers on material innovation, experimental construction methods, and the impact of complex geometries on the built environment. Noteworthy projects have included a recent studio exploring the application of his patented foldable fiberglass structures as shelter in the wake of natural disasters, an installation for the AIA’s Atlanta Emerging Voices competition in 2013, and the solo exhibition Object to Atmosphere for the Barbara Archer Gallery, also in Atlan...

ETH Zurich's HiLo unit combines medieval building techniques with innovative construction methods

2021-10-07T14:04:00-04:00

ETH Zurich has unveiled HiLo, the latest addition to Empa and Eawag’s modular NEST research building in Duebendorf, Switzerland. Featuring a doubly curved concrete roof, lightweight funicular floors, and self-learning building technology, the new unit reflects nearly a decade of ETH Zurich research in architecture and sustainable technologies.

Photo: Roman Keller

Sitting at the intersection of past and future, HiLo was inspired by medieval building principles and planned and built using state-of-the-art computational design and fabrication techniques. A team of scientists led by Philippe Block, Professor of Architecture and Structures, and Arno Schlueter, Professor of Architecture and Building Systems, along with industrial partners explored how lightweight structures and efficient construction methods can be combined with intelligent and adaptive building systems to reduce embodied and operational emissions in the construction and building industry.

Photo: Roman Keller

The unit’s ro...

Design collaborative launches open-source 'bee homes'

2020-06-03T13:08:00-04:00

IKEA's research and design lab SPACE10 has teamed up with Bakken & Bæck and designer Tanita Klein to launch an open-source Bee Home. The offering is in response to the collaborative's recognition of the essentiality of bees for life on earth, which includes one third of all of the food we eat. The team's aim is to mitigate the impact humans have made on bees' natural habitats.

Bee Home is free and open-source, allowing users to customize, fabricate, and assemble a design of their making locally. "For almost 80 years, IKEA has enabled people to create a better everyday life at home," said Kaave Pour, Director at SPACE10 in a statement. "But our home is more than just four walls, our home is also the planet we live on. That is why we launch Bee Home: we want to enable people everywhere to help rebalance our relationship with the planet and ensure a sustainable home for all of us."

Constructing a Bee Home is a fairly simple process. One would first design their structure online, select...

U Penn students control robots remotely to complete semester work

2020-05-12T16:28:00-04:00

At the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design, students taking part in a Graduate Architecture Program seminar developed by U Penn Professor Ezio Blasetti have found a way to complete work fabricating design projects despite not being able to physically access the school's fabrication facilities.

As part of Blasetti's Computational Composite Form Computational Design & Carbon Fiber Robotic fabrication seminar, faculty and students were able to control digital fabrication robots in the school's new Advanced Research & Innovation Lab remotely through a suite of remote access tools provided by Dropbox.

U Penn Professor Ezio Blasetti controlling fabrication robots in his studio. Image courtesy of the Weitzman School of Design.

According to the school, "This quick adaptation may signal new ways that universities will need to reimagine learning experiences. With the shape of the fall 2020 semester deeply uncertain, universities may be turning to similar structures to meet s...

Seattle architects are supplying face shields to local health workers

2020-04-03T11:51:00-04:00

Architecture firms Weber Thompson of Seattle and MZA of Bellevue are helping supply face shields and goggles to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic locally. Over a two-week period, Weber Thompson plans to print 100 bands — the rigid plastic piece to which the clear face shield attaches to protect the wearer. The bands will be delivered to Seattle Makers, which will attach them and distribute the shields.

According to the Seattle DJC, the group's goal is to provide 5,000 shields for "local hospitals, essential businesses and facilities, homeless shelter workers, and others fighting COVID-19. Weber Thompson is using their 3D printer to create the bands for the face shields, each takes about two to three hours to print, the DJC reports.

In addition to the Weber Thompson and MZA, many other businesses have come on to help with the effort, Seattle Maker co-founder Jeremy Hanson told the DJC. Architects can go to the PRUSA website to locate open-source plans for the face shield bands to contribute if they wish, said Weber Thompson Marketing Director Erin Hatch.

Architects and fabrication specialists join together to mitigate the COVID-19 medical supply shortage

2020-03-20T11:39:00-04:00

With news of COVID-19 affecting individuals across the globe, hospitals and medical clinics are experiencing a shortage in supplies such as ventilators, respirators, and personal protective equipment (PPE). However, as news of the virus spreads, design professionals are banning together with medical professionals and engineers to find solutions to the shortage.

Public Facebook groups like Open Source Ventilator have created discussion forums to help brainstorm, share, and prototype various solutions. A report from CNET dives into this coverage and shares which companies are joining the effort. "HP, teeth straightener vendor SmileDirectClub and various other companies are exploring ways to use their 3D-printing technology to build things like ventilator valves, breathing filters, and face mask clasps." Earlier this week, Archinect reported of Italian 3D-printing company Isinnova and their success in designing and printing respirator valves for hospitals in the area.

Now more than ev...

Trans.figure: Reflecting on UCLA's IDEAS Campus Summer Exhibition

2019-11-01T18:29:00-04:00

With the summer season behind us and a new term just started, Archinect takes a moment to showcase the work of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design's IDEAS campus located near Culver City, Calif. The campus is an incubator for exploration of various examples of digital design software, fabrication techniques, and other tools to help students during their introduction to the post-professional Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design program.

Work presented at the UCLA IDEAS Summer Exhibition 2019. Image courtesy of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design

At the IDEAS campus, students are able to work and collaborate with faculty while examining four areas of research within the architecture profession: Entertainment, Mobility, Technology, and Urban Strategy.

Work presented at the UCLA IDEAS Summer Exhibition 2019. Image courtesy of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design

For this year's exhibition, the studio explored and experimented with objects curated from contemporary sculptures f...

ONE Lab's four-week summer program immerses individuals in coding, sustainable design, and digital fabrication in Brooklyn's Navy Yard

2019-04-25T12:29:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by ONE Lab Study Program

ONE Lab’s study program is a four-week long architecture and urban design studio focused on coding, sustainable design and digital fabrication. ONE Lab is a non-accredited, industry affiliated teaching and research collective based in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This hands-on, project-based school for ecological design lets students expand their knowledge through individual studio instruction, group tours of advanced manufacturing facilities, office visits and design theory lectures. Architects, Planners, Sculptors, Industrial and Landscape Designers are all welcome to apply.

The ONE Lab summer program will be held in a newly renovated space located at 19 Morris Avenue in Brooklyn. The Morris Avenue building supports a vibrant community of entrepreneurs from a wide-range of disciplines including robotics, rocketry, software engineering, architecture, urban planning and biotechnology. ONE Lab hosts a cutting-edge design curriculum in ...

World's first digitally planned and built residence debuts in Switzerland

2019-03-05T18:08:00-05:00

In Dübendorf, Switzerland the official opening of the world's first digitally planned and built residence now stands. Coined, the DFAB House, the project was developed by researchers from ETH Zurich in collaboration with industrial partners and the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR). The three-story house sits on top of the Next Evolution in Sustainable Building Technologies (NEST) research institute of Empa and Eawag in Dübendorf. According to ETH Zurich, "The aim of digital technologies is not only to make planning and construction more efficient but also more sustainable. For example, the digitally planned floor slab of the DFAB HOUSE is statically and structurally optimized in such a way that considerable amounts of material can be saved compared to a conventional concrete slab."

DFAB House; Image © Roman Keller

The three-story, 2,153 square foot smart house was developed by eight ETH Zurich professors ...

Architect Julia Koerner blends design, technology, and fashion to help Black Panther win an Oscar in best costume design

2019-02-25T14:43:00-05:00

Beyond the silver screen buzz and Hollywood glam, the Oscars highlight professionals in non-acting categories like best original soundtrack, set design, and costume design. This year, a film, which received several awards and nominations, shined through its use of 3D printing and architectural design concepts. In the film Black Panther, architect Julia Koerner used traditional techniques combined with digital technologies to create the intricate accessories worn by Queen Ramonda.

Left, a Zulu woman in the traditional headdress of a married woman; center, a conceptual costume sketch by Ms. Carter (design) and Ryan Meinerding and his team (concept artists); and right, the headdress as worn by Angela Bassett designed by Julia Koerner and Ruth Carter. Credit Getty Images; Marvel; Marvel/Disney

Inspired by African patterns presented in the initial design sketches of Ruth Carter, Koerner's Zulu hat and shoulder mantle were designed to look as though it were created by technology from the f...

Researchers at Columbia University create digital wood using 3D-printing

2019-01-07T13:59:00-05:00

Researchers at Columbia University have invented a digital "wood" using 3D-printing technology to replicate the material's external and internal structure. They believe the technique could be applied to other anisotropic materials, which are especially difficult to replicate due to their complicated material distribution.

To begin, the researchers used destructive tomographic imaging to capture extremely-thin slices of olive wood cut by a CNC. In total, 230 images were taken and sent to a Stratasys J750 PolyJet printer, which is capable of printing objects using voxels. Engineers were then able to print a resin block mimicking the unique grain pattern of olive wood.

In the study's abstract, the authors note the technique's success, observing that "the final printed object closely resembles the original wooden block both in its external appearance and in its internal color pattern, as confirmed when the block is cut or broken." They hope the process will be employed in the digital re...

9 Fabrication, Rendering, and Graphic Design job opportunities

2018-11-29T11:50:00-05:00

It's important to have a diverse team when it comes to seeing a project come to life. Whether it be fabrication, 3D modeling, renderings, or even graphic design it's these details that help give projects an extra element of possibility. This week we've curated employment opportunities for those seeking to use their digital talents with great firms.

Knotel is seeking an Environmental Graphic Designer in San Francisco
Working within the Launch Department, the Environmental Graphic Designer will be charged with designing unique environmental experiences in our San Francisco spaces. S/he will develop creative and strategic solutions to enhance the brand experience of our physical spaces. The Designer must have a passion for developing exceptional graphic, industrial, and experiential design, both static and dynamic. They must have a strong understanding of how size, scale, color, proportion, materiality, and finish are appropriate for a variety of interior and exterior environmental so...

Zaha Hadid Architects' pays homage to Spanish-Mexican architect Félix Candela

2018-11-02T14:25:00-04:00

Showcasing their first exhibition in Latin America, Zaha Hadid Architects creates a dazzling structural form honoring architect and engineer Félix Candela. The Spanish-Mexican architect made several major contributions in shaping and developing Mexican architecture. One of his most notable contributions was the creation of thin, shell like structures made out of reinforced concrete called cascarones. In true Zaha Hadid fashion, the team was inspired by these structures and developed KnitCandela.

Los Manantiales, 1958 by Félix Candela Image © Gallery 400

KnitCandela Image © Juan Pablo Allegre

Constructed at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) in Mexico City, the process consisted of the introduction of new computational design methods and an innovative KnitCrete fabrication. Never failing to skimp on details, the structures overall form was inspired by the the colorful and fluid forms of traditional dresses of Mexico. The combination of soft and hard materials are marrie...

Croatia designs immersive, robot-built “Cloud Pergola” Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Biennale

2018-06-07T16:06:00-04:00

For the 2018 Venice Biennale, Croatia's “Cloud Pergola / The Architecture of Hospitality” Pavilion reflects on spaces of hospitality, the environment, automated design, and architecture's role in the 21st century. Designed by a team curated by Croatian architect Bruno Juričić, Cloud Pergola is said to be one of the world's largest and most complex 3D-fabricated structures.

Architect Bruno Juričić at Cloud Pergola. Photo: Jan Stojkovic.

Photo: Jan Stojkovic.

Based on the traditional pergola, the pavilion comprises of three interplaying interventions. The main installation is “Cloud Drawing” by architect Alisa Andrašek in collaboration with Bruno Juričić. Working with Arup and manufacturer Ai-Build, the “mathematized cloud” structure was made from about 661 pounds of 3D-printed biodegradable plastic, and was largely fabricated by robots. The structure “integrates site-specific environmental data into a synthesis of form, figure, posture, tectonics, porosity, and light effect”.

“To Stil...

Apply now for 2018 AA Istanbul Visiting School - Robotic Mediations!

2018-05-31T08:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by AA Istanbul Visiting School.

AA ISTANBUL VISITING SCHOOL – ROBOTIC MEDIATIONS Monday June 25 – Friday 6 July 6, 2018

AA Istanbul Visiting School, in collaboration with Istanbul Bilgi University, is a unique learning and making experience. The program continues to build on its expertise on generative design methodologies and large- scale prototyping techniques from previous years, while bringing together a range of experts from internationally acclaimed academic institutions and practices, Architectural Association, Zaha Hadid Architects, among others.

AA Istanbul Visiting School investigates the inherent associations between form, material, and structure through the rigorous implementation of innovative design and fabrication techniques. Computational methods for design, analysis, and fabrication are coupled with physical experimentation, fostering ‘learning-by- experimentation’ in an active collaborative studio environment. Throughout the design and ...

Apply now for 2018 AA Istanbul Visiting School - Robotic Mediations!

2018-04-12T12:13:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by AA Istanbul Visiting School.

AA ISTANBUL VISITING SCHOOL – ROBOTIC MEDIATIONS
Monday June 25 – Friday 6 July 6, 2018

Watch these robots build a timber house structure in Switzerland

2018-03-30T14:57:00-04:00

A team of researchers from Swiss university ETH Zurich is to use robots to help assemble prefabricated timber modules into a 100 sq m, three-storey house. [...] The robots use information from a CAD model to cut and arrange the beams, then drill holes and connect them. Human workers bolt the beams together.

Photo: NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller

The Spatial Timber Assemblies robotic research project, with support from Switzerland's National Centre of Competence in Research Digital Fabrication, is the first large-scale architectural application for the construction robots at the new Robotic Fabrication Laboratory at the ETH Zurich.

Photo: NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller

"Unlike traditional timber frame construction, Spatial Timber Assemblies can manage without reinforcement plates because the required rigidity and load-bearing result from the geometric structure," the NCCR project description explains.

Photo: NCCR Digital Fabrication / Roman Keller

"Not only does this save material; it also opens up new creative possibilities. A total of six spatial, geometrically unique timber modules will be prefabricated in this way for the first time. Lorries will then transport them to the DFAB HOUSE construction site at the NEST in Dübendorf, where they will be joined to build a two-...

Architecture students at UVA honor bicentennial with a digitally fabricated pavilion

2017-10-29T15:04:00-04:00

Students and faculty from the University of Virginia created a temporary addition to Thomas Jefferson’s vision for a living and learning community. The final product – a series of interlocking arches made of nontoxic, recyclable polypropylene plastic – is very different from the neoclassical style that Thomas Jefferson admired. However, Jefferson, who had a chemistry lab installed in the Rotunda, likely would have been fascinated by the technology used in its production.

New approaches to material, fabrication, and design on display at CCA's "Designing Material Innovation"

2017-09-27T19:18:00-04:00

Beginning tomorrow, the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, will host Designing Material Innovation, an exhibition being held on the College's Back Lot—soon to be converted into their new campus by Studio Gang—which will put on display new approaches to material, fabrication, and design. Created through collaborations between architects and industry partners, the works combine technological innovation in materials research and fabrication with aesthetic and ethical approaches to form and appearance.

"Confetti Urbanism" by Clark Thenhaus.

"Thinness" by Aptum Architecture.

The exhibition, and accompanying symposium, has been organized by Taubman's new dean Jonathan Massey and will feature five full-scale architectural prototypes and pavilions by CCA Digital Craft Lab, APTUM Architecture, Matter Design with M.I.T. Architecture, and T+E+A+M. Design of the exhibition has been carried out by Clark Thenhaus of Endemic Architecture and features a “confetti urbanism” that rearrang...

MIT's DCP robot can quickly print large-scale structures completely made of local materials

2017-05-10T15:02:00-04:00

[The] Digital Construction Platform (DCP) [is] a four-ton solar powered robot arm on tank tracks. And yet, it’s a working proof-of-concept that a machine can build a lot like a tree does, sourcing local energy and adapting to local conditions to construct a building out of local materials–anything ranging from dirt, to ice, to moon dust...The tip of the arm is fit with a nozzle that can mix and spray mud, foam, or concrete–basically any viscous building material you could imagine.

Designed by the MIT Mediated Matter group, the DCP robot is an “experimental enabling technology for large-scale digital manufacturing” that has shown impressive results in printing with various media, including light printing, excavation, welded-chain construction, and additive fabrication with the Print-in-Place process.

The DCP can potentially be used in the design and construction industries, but the lab is diving deeper into how to take their DCP technology to the next level — like constructing ice structures on the Moon or printing “living buildings” made of animal proteins and other microorganisms.

See the DCP in action below.

Students explore structural concrete strategies in “Weave.X”, from AA Summer DLAB: ORANGE

2016-11-29T13:52:00-05:00

Twenty-one participants from 11 countries got to hone their skills in computational design and research during the AA Summer DLAB: ORANGE workshop at AA's London campus this past July. Building upon the last two Summer DLAB cycles, students worked side by side in researching and developing innovative architectural strategies to construct 3-D interwoven concrete structures. With guidance from AA Summer DLAB tutors and collaborators, students also applied techniques related to geometry rationalization, material behavior, and robotic fabrication.

The three-week program culminated with the creation of a full-scale, working prototype installation called “Weave.X”, which now stands on display in the midst of Hooke Park.

Keep reading for more about the fabrication process behind Weave.X.

“Initial computational form-finding techniques explore the generation of a network of interwoven elements via a bundling algorithm developed in Grasshopper. The algorithm enables the user to locally different...

Students go above the double-curve in “InFlux”, from AA Summer DLAB::RED

2016-07-27T18:49:00-04:00

Contrasting against the greenery of Hooke Park is “InFlux”, a brick-red wall prototype that 18 students and their tutors assembled for the AA School of Architecture's Summer DLAB::RED 2015 program. Taking place from July 27 to August 8, the RED-themed agenda explored the phenomenal process of decay in nature.

InFlux builds upon the material behavior research that began in 2014, with further investigations that connect geometry, material, and structure. During the first two weeks, students investigated the fabrication and construction of double-curved complex geometries in applying generative design techniques and robotic milling strategies. Students then applied their skills in constructing the 1:1 working prototype during the last seven days of the program. Since then, InFlux has become a permanent installation at Hooke Park.

Also be on the lookout for more from 2016 Summer DLAB::ORANGE, which just started earlier this week.

Keep reading for more about InFlux's fabrication process:

Ph...

The dawn of construction worker robots?

2015-10-22T13:04:00-04:00

Zurich-based architects and roboticists have created the In-situ Fabricator, an autonomous construction robot capable of laying bricks into pre-programmed structures. Designers at the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication laboratory believe a future generation of the robot could be used widely on building sites.

According to Mathias Kohler of ETH Zurich, "The benefit from an architectural point of view is that you can really design the construction directly, so you can plan for how it is built instead of designing your plan and then that plan afterwards being converted on the construction site. So it actually changes the paradigm of how you design and build quite fundamentally."

Want to know what else robots are getting up to? Well, you're in luck:

• New Googleplex will be built by robots

• The real-life architecture of "Ex Machina"

• Amsterdam could get a new 3D-printed bridge built by robots

• Flying Robots Monitoring Failing Infrastructure

Apply now for the AA Visiting School Greece: Thessaloniki Revelations workshop

2015-09-01T19:10:00-04:00

The AA Visiting School Greece program is getting ready for their Thessaloniki "Revelations" session, starting October 30 through November 9 at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The collaborative workshop will investigate the urban fabric of the historic city of Thessaloniki through a series of multi-parameter morphological operations and the use of digital fabrication tools.

All architecture and design students and professionals worldwide are invited to sign up. Be sure to apply by October 15.

The workshop will challenge participants to rethink the way Thessaloniki's city environment has affected its population based on shifting needs, as well as to visualize these urban shifts in a hyper-specific contextualized construction model. Students' design proposals will focus largely on innovative urban interventions informed by the existing city conditions of Thessaloniki.

During the design research phase, students will work in teams as they explore digital fabrication methods thro...

Dump your old vector files in the Digital Junkyard to be recycled into real-world objects

2015-07-24T21:28:00-04:00

The Digital Junkyard is an experiment in virtual salvage. It is a repository of donated digital information that is used to generate real physical and spatial objects...This project is an embodiment of the growing collective intelligence that technology affords us; and an experiment in ideas about digital ecology. It also honours the time and energy that designers put into testing and making mistakes.

No, this isn't some snarky Craigslist ad. Recently launched by architecturally trained designer and artist Car Martin, the Digital Junkyard is a website with a mission to transform as much of your unwanted vector files into a new physical object or creative idea of sorts, in the real world. In addition to "dumping" their files, users can "salvage" and download donated files, and can eventually check out the resulting "artifacts" -- although that section of the site is yet to be filled.

The Digital Junkyard accepts a maximum of 250 MB and is mainly looking for vector files. More specifically:

Adobe (.ai .eps .pdf)
Autodesk (.dwg .rvt)
Mcneel/Rhino (.3dm .gh.ghx)
Sketchup (.skp)
GIS (.mxd & shapefile folders)
Other (.svg .dxf)

Screenshot via djunkyard.com

While the Digital Junkyard can be a practical outlet for architects and designers to clear up their digital workspaces, Martin's website has an introspective side to it that is greatly relevant at this point in our tightening relationship wit...