Autonomous Architectural Operations

摘要

The research set out in this paper investigates the conception, testing, and implementation of an advanced and bespoke workflow. By hybridizing a diverse set of technologies and processes, an innovative fabrication strategy was developed that combines large scale glue-laminated timber frames with a robotic band-saw application. The design strategy was influenced by a number of key preoccupations: exploring the relationship between drawing and making, evenly distributing analogue and digital technologies, and advancing alternatives modes of architectural practice. The project regards intuitive design processes as an important driver and looked to apply digital tools lightly, aiming to precisely embed them within established timber fabrication processes. This workflow was tested through the design and fabrication of a timber skeleton that provides the structural system for a library building at Hooke Park and acts as an articulated armature supporting the library’s envelope and accommodates its internal workings. Through the production of the sculptural skeleton, the project challenges conventions of existing methodologies and ultimately brings about a morphologic innovation in timber construction through the closed geometry glulam component.