Mutant Aggregation #00

Brick-laying robot sculpts 'Fireplace' without mortar "No  Mortar"
One of the oldest green building materials known to humankind, bricks have great thermal mass and last almost forever. But laying them takes skill, and complex forms and shapes are hard to design and build. Unusually, today we happened upon a story about bricks that doesn't involve Lego. Reassuringly, it still involves robots. It have re-purpose an industrial robot to create an intricate clay brick sculpture. The accuracy that will afforded by industrial robotics enables the placement and structure of the bricks themselves to create a sculpture that "lifts off the ground" without the use of mortar. Presents a digitally generated and fabricated wall consisting of clay bricks.

Using a modular unit of the masonry brick that developed a systematic aggregation creating a curved wall that inspired by Dome. The wall’s double layered running bond varies from a straight line to a maximum undulation, which creates an inhabitable space "Fireplace".

The emerging space and pattern is the resultant of a set of principles (algorithms) applied to a simple rectangular brick module, taking into account its material and technical parameters. The scale, precision, and vast number of units of the final design scheme necessitated an automated process based on script and robotic construction. A feat impossible to achieve by human hand due to the labor-intensive, precise nature of the task.

The approach that has been taken with this “Fireplace gathering” which includes the task and the robot, as well as the finished sculpture, in the work of art. It's about time robots were acknowledged for their tireless efforts. It's becoming quite the artist.

The Project is the outcome of a synthesis of computer generated design and computer aided construction research.

Going beyond the model scale, and planing to work with the Robotic arm set up new design challenges which were tightly linked to the construction techniques, material constraints, and structural limitations encountered in full scale building modus.

Ultimately the design manifests the performative potential of bricks, expressed through the wall’s curvature and porosity as it affects the acoustic and visual qualities of the wall-space created. Using digital technology these affects were pushed to a new extreme. Overall the project hopes to highlight the potential of digital fabrication techniques and the role these have in the education of architects.

For 3D Navigation: please visit this link:  http://sketchfab.com/nmkj3h10a