Designing [with] Machines

Abstract

The aim of this research is to investigate the potential of a design and fabrication workflow that is centered around the development of task- and site-specific robotic systems for in-situ architectural making: Designing [with] Machines (D[w]M). The project proposes an alternative strategy to the established logic of design for production, in which design decisions are a function of affordances and limitations of available fabrication equipment. D[w]M engages the designer to define their own parameter ranges for the fabrication process through simultaneous development of fabrication machines and complimentary material, and architectural systems. In addition to affording more flexibility, D[w]M offers an opportunity to develop robotic fabrication systems uniquely tailored for deployment on sites that are not suited for conventional robotic equipment. In this paper, D[w]M workflow is outlined in the description of a task- and site-specific robotic system for additive fabrication of a tensile filament-wound object in an in-situ environment. Specifically, the presented project investigates design opportunities afforded by cooperative operation of multiple mobile single-axis robots deployed along linear structural elements of the given site. In utilizing column and beam elements as machine locomotion substrates, the system contributes them to the robotic assembly as parts of the in-situ digital fabrication machine.