Gramazio & Kohler Architecture and Digital Fabrication @ Fabricate 2011

During Fabricate 2011 we were lucky enough to exhibit with Gramazio & Kohler in the Bartett’s Gallery Space.  Their exhibit was fascinating - robotic fabrication using live feedback from a laser scanner to edit the construction while in process.  Just before it was disassembled we managed to grab a few scans of the completed structure with the robot trapped inside.  We’re hoping this data will form part of a series of collaborative investigations, testing the products of digital fabrication against the idealised digital designs they come from.  How close to our digital ideal are the objects we make?  We hope to find out. 

The scanning process deployed by Gramazio and Kohler's robot measured the height positions of the previous layer of construction and reconfigured the next layer based on what it found. This feedback and adjustment hints at future projects where scanning on a much larger scale could immediately inform the fabrication and deployment of architectural elements.  Exciting stuff and something we’d love the opportunity to explore further.