Use of industrial robots in construction

Today, September 30, 2009 at 19.00 in the “Storefront for Art and Architecture” (New York), the opening of a new exhibition was held on which a study conducted during the last 3 years at ETH Zurich by Swiss architects Gramacio and Kohler (Gramazio & Kohler): full-scale architectural production using industrial robots. At the same time on Pike st. NYC launched the first architectural project in the United States, which will be built entirely using an industrial robot.

Located on Pike St., the R / O / B robot will work for about four weeks in full view of the public to build an installation of very sculpted brick walls reflecting the character of the area. The same robot built the composition Structural Oscillations, which was awarded at the architectural biennale in Venice in 2008.
For installation on Pike st. more than 7,000 bricks will be used which together form an endless cycle that will flow around a pedestrian island. The installation looks very difficult: in a closed cycle of constantly changing rhythms, the loops of the canvas rise above the ground and cross themselves at peak heights (see the title image). Construction takes place in the framework of the Creative Program under the patronage of the Department of Urban Transport of New York.
Over the years, architects have relied on digital manufacturing processes, such as milling machines or 3D printers, as a tool for exploring scale models. For the first time, Gramacio and Kohler explores the potential of mobile digital production methods that allow a model to be implemented on a 1: 1 scale directly on site.


Such industrial robots are commonly used to assemble cars and perform other tasks of high accuracy.


brick canvas general view:

approximate image, estimate the accuracy and complexity of the laying:

Video from the architectural biennale 2008 in Venice:


the exhibition will run until November 14 at Storefront for Art and Architecture, 97 Kenmare St., NYC