House 4178

Developed throughout the academic year, the students used computational design and robotic fabrication to realize a unique two-story timber structure. Throughout the project, multiple prototypes were designed, fabricated, tested and refined, leading to a final project proposal. In order to fabricate the final proposal, a new robotic setup consisting of two large-scale ABB industrial robots on a linear track was developed and installed. In an automated process, the robot precisely pre-cut and assembled over 4000 different elements into large component pieces which together created the walls, floors and enclosure. The final prefabricated elements are composed of three-dimensional spatial trusses autonomously clad with wooden shingles. The structure was then installed by assembling the individual prefabricated elements on-site. The project featured teaching contributions from various groups within the NCCR Digital Fabrication including the Block Research Group (BRG), the Chair of Sustainable Construction, and the Digital Building Technologies.