The informed wall: Applying additive digital fabrication techniques on architecture

Abstract

In this work in progress report we present the results of a four week design studio with graduate students as part of a broader research project on investigating digital additive fabrication processes and their implications on architectural design In a simple test arrangement we realized the digital design and additive fabrication of two by three meters brick walls. The use of bricks, being the primary module for construction, and at a relatively coarse resolution, allowed us to concentrate on the design of completely programmed walls encompassing material-dependent parameters. The resulting prototypes depict the great potential of the integration of the design and the fabrication process. Non-standardized solutions can be easily accomplished as the design data is directly used to control the fabrication process. In using an additive digital fabrication process, a novel architectural product of the kind "brick wall" emerged, which could not have been conceived or fabricated manually.