Geometry as Assembly - Integrating design and fabrication with discrete modular units

Abstract

This paper proposes a design and fabrication approach based on the conceptualization of architectural formations as spatial assemblies of discrete building blocks to be aggregated through custom robotic procedures. Such strategy attempts to create synergies between different technological methods and to define a new and open design space where discrete design, serial prototyping and robotic assembly can be exploited to create complex reconfigurable structures. With the aim to allow users to explore the field of discrete geometries for architectural application without need for prior programming knowledge, we developed a software framework for representing and designing with discrete elements, different digital fabrication techniques integrated with conventional production processes for serial prototyping of repetitive units, and custom robotic fabrication routines, allowing a direct translation from aggregated geometry to assembly toolpath. Together these methods aim at creating a more direct connection between design and fabrication, relying on the idea of discrete elements assembly and on the parallel between modular design and modularized robot code generation.