A computational framework for the design and robotic manufacturing of complex wood structures

Abstract

The emerging paradigm of Industry 4.0 is rapidly expanding in the AEC sector, where emergent technologies are offering new possibilities. The use of collaborative robots is enabling processes of advanced fabrication, where humans and robots coexist and collaborate towards the co-creation of new building processes. This paper focuses on setting a conceptual framework and a computational workflow for the design and assembly of a novel type of engineered wood structures. The aim is advancing timber construction through complex tectonic configurations, which are informed by logics of robotic assembly, topology and material optimization, and combinatorial design. Starting from the conceptualization of robotic layered manufacturing for timber structures, this work presents the development of a digital twin applied to the voxel-based design of complex timber structures.