Impact Printed Structures - Designing and Fabricating Impact Printed Structures with Architectural Openings

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In the first 11-week module of the second trimester of the MAS ETH in Architecture and Digital Fabrication, we will investigate and develop methods and techniques for the robotic aggregation of workable building blocks, composed of soil- based material, through a fast remote deposition process, in order to build unreinforced, non- standard and sustainable architectural structures. 

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Earth construction techniques have emerged as increasingly relevant alternatives to modern materials with high embodied energy and green house gas emissions. However, there are significant challenges in scaling up earth-based construction systems due to complex material behaviour and mechanical limitations, limiting the architectural potentials.

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​The hypothesis is that using an earth-based material in combination with wood's superior mechanical qualities may result in more resolved construction systems and novel design opportunities..

 

Impact Printed Structures is an interdisciplinary research project between Chair of Sustainable Construction, Gramazio Kohler Research and Robotic Systems Lab that is funded by the ETH Research Grants. The project aims to The proposed study will develop methods for designing and fabricating architectural openings with a computational controlled method for Impact Printed Structures.

 

Tutors :

Research team :  Kunaljit Chadha,  Dr. Lauren Vasey

Teaching team : Dr. Petrus Aejmelaeus-Lindström, Ananya Kango

Research team support 

Material Development: Silva da Assuncao Julie (CSC)

Robotics Engineer: Malczyk Grzegorz (RSL)

Hardware : Victor Leung (GKR)

Technicians : Michael Lyrenmann, Philippe Fleischmann

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Final critique : 16th of March 2023

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