@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850-795387, author = {Chadha , Kunaljit}, year = {2025}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, address = {Zurich}, size = {251 p.}, language = {en}, abstract = {The construction sector significantly contributes to environmental degradation due to its reliance on finite resources for construction materials, high waste generation, and the extensive use of materials such as steel and concrete, which have substantial environmental footprints. To mitigate these impacts, the industry is increasingly exploring Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies, such as 3D Printing (3DP), using materials such as concrete or earth, as a promising recourse to enhance resource efficiency and reduce material waste, embodied carbon, and environmental impact of construction. However, integrating AM technologies into mainstream construction presents challenges, particularly the inability of materials to support self-weight during printing. This challenge is typically handled by slowing construction rates to allow material drying or chemically accelerating the curing process, which hinders productivity and potentially increases environmental impact. In response to these challenges, this thesis explores the architectural potential of a novel AM method, Impact Printing. Unlike conventional 3DP, Impact Printing involves the discrete aggregation of workable portions of material parts at high velocities and fast cycle times to create volumetric structures through a waste-free, efficient, and automated construction process using low-impact, earth-based materials. This research aims to explore the unique affordances of the Impact Printing method, focusing on its non-contact deposition process, discrete material aggregation, and extended workability window after deposition. The study addresses four key areas: (a) process calibration methods and toolkit to establish a relationship between material properties and machine parameters for effective process control, (b) developing design systems and construction strategies for architectural application and developing approaches for integration with building sub-systems, (c) devising methods to understand system limitations in order to transfer the AM method to more complex on-site robotic platforms, and (d) creating novel robotic tools for formative robotic surface finishing, leveraging the extended workability of materials post-deposition. The developed tools and strategies were validated through 1:1 scale empirical testing in both off-site and on-site scenarios. The outcome of this research contributes to advancing Impact Printing as a viable construction system, expanding the potential of digital design and robotic fabrication, and promoting more sustainable construction practices and the broader field of additive manufacturing.}, keywords = {Construction robotics; Digital Fabrication; Sustainable Design; Advanced Manufacturing Technologies; Architectural design; Automation; Additive Manufacturing}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, DOI = {https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-c-000795387}, title = {Impact Printed Architecture. Design Systems, Construction Strategies and Robotic Tools for Impact Printing Method}, Note = {Second Advisor: Dr. Lauren Vasey}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/647367, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2023}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, institution = {SNF}, author = {Leung, Pok Yin}, size = {499 p.}, abstract = {This thesis investigates the potential of distributed robotics systems in automating the assembly of timber structures, addressing the challenges of large-scale spatial manipulation and tight-fitting timber joint assembly, which are highly relevant for timber construction.Leveraging the highly automated process of machining timber parts using automatic joinery machines, the thesis investigates the next knowledge gap in the design-to-production workflow - automatic spatial assembly. Using timber frame structures with integral timber joints as a starting point, this thesis proposed a new fabrication system using Distributed Robotic Tools (DiRT) in collaboration with industrial robotic arms. The crucial breakthrough is the modular and remote operation nature of the tools, allowing the system to assemble a wide variety of timber joints and complex structures.This thesis also investigated an integrated design workflow. Design validation is identified as a critical aspect of the automated assembly process. This research proposes a practical three-tier validation process to evaluate a design, with quick feasibility feedback provided to the designer during the design process. It takes into consideration geometrical conflicts, robot limitations and tool setup to provide visual feedback on various problems to the designer. The research provides a proof-of-concept through the development of three full-scale timber frame demonstrators, each assembled using a single robotic arm and a set of custom-designed distributed assembly tools. The assembly tools include robotic clamps and screwdrivers for different types of lap joints, including planar and non-planar varieties. The findings showcased a viable method to assemble timber structures, mitigating well-known problems such as accumulated assembly error and instability during construction. The results also identified key challenges that are limiting the system efficiency, accuracy, reliability and success rate for the automated process, as well as discovering new opportunities for future research. These opportunities include establishing a generalizable DiRT assembly system, and expanding the range of joint types and building components that can be assembled.The thesis contributes software tools and system design patterns that are generalizable and reusable within the broader digital fabrication and construction automation community. For example, software for remote robot operation and synchronisation; Data structures and algorithms for robotically assembled structures; Methods for automating parsing designs into robotic programmes; and Task and Motion Planning (TAMP) techniques for assembly problems.Ultimately, this research contributes to ongoing efforts to harness the potential of robotics for creating more efficient and sustainable timber construction processes. Paving the way for the widespread adoption of automated construction processes within the architectural industry.}, keywords = {Integral Timber Joints; Distributed Robotic Tools; Digital Fabrication; Construction Robotics}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000647367}, title = {DiRT: Distributed Robotic Tools for Spatial Timber Assembly with Integral Timber Joints}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/626069, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2023}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Mitterberger, Daniela}, size = {219 p.}, abstract = {This research aims to establish adaptive digital fabrication processes that include human-machine collaboration in digital fabrication. In the past two decades, digital fabrication in architecture engineering and construction (AEC) has significantly advanced, enabling more complex, customised, and precise fabrication results. Even though most digital fabrication processes aim for full automation, they still require human participation for either material deposition, quality control, or finishing. While humans are still needed, current digital fabrication processes are not adaptive enough to include humans in the digital control logic. This inflexibility limits the robustness and autonomy of digital fabrication and its applicability in areas that are more difficult to automate, such as on-site fabrication or fabrication with more complex material systems. Therefore, this doctoral research aims to include human actions and decision-making in digital fabrication processes. This combination of human tacit knowledge and dexterity with the precision and endurance of machines has the potential to increase the productivity, adaptability and robustness of digital fabrication. To facilitate human-machine collaboration, this research establishes more adaptive digital fabrication processes, linking digital models with physical fabrication environments. For this, digital twins are developed to efficiently control and capture data from the entire fabrication process and all its components. These digital twins are linked with extended-reality interfaces, actuators and tracking systems to inform and track humans and machines during fabrication. The research results are obtained through physical experiments and four proof-of-concept case studies investigating various aspects of human-machine collaboration in architecture and digital fabrication. By solving practical and methodological challenges, this research demonstrates how human-machine collaboration supports a faster and more sustainable integration of digital fabrication in AEC. Furthermore, this thesis illustrates the aesthetic and technological benefits of such collaborative systems, as well as their potential to expand our repertoire of digital fabrication workflows.}, keywords = {Augmented Reality (AR); Digital fabrication; Robotic fabrication; Human-machine interaction; Extended reality; Architecture; Augmented reality fabrication; interactive fabrication}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000626069}, title = {Augmented Human and Extended Machine:. Adaptive Digital Fabrication and Human-machine Collaboration for Architecture}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/626106, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2023}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Xydis, Achilleas}, size = {288 p.}, abstract = {Acoustics are rarely included as a design driver in the early phases of design due to the multi-faceted nature of sound and the complex and time-consuming analysis process of room acoustics software. Inevitably this results in architectural spaces with poor acoustics, where treatment is either disregarded or focuses only on noise prevention using absorbent materials. However, most commonly used construction materials have sound-reflecting properties and can be configured into sound-diffusive surfaces. These surfaces can help reduce unwanted flattered echoes, colourisation, and image shift and create a more pleasant and comfortable environment without needing additional elements (e.g. absorption panels). Faster and simpler analysis tools are required to harness the potential of diffusion in architectural design.This dissertation presents a new data-driven approach to designing and evaluating the acoustic properties of architectural surfaces. It investigates the use of machine-learning techniques to study the mutual relationship between geometry and sound diffusion. It introduces a new acoustic dataset meant as a basis for training predictive machine-learning models. These models enable the creation of fast, less cumbersome, and reasonably accurate acoustics analysis tools. It proposes and implements a new automated multi-robotic data-acquisition method for collecting impulse responses from scale-modelled surfaces. It also develops computational tools to design and generate three-dimensional wall-like surface geometries. The geometrical characteristics of these surfaces are based on commonly used construction materials and techniques. A computational framework is developed in parallel to process the collected data and generate customisable and interactive visualisations for low- and high-dimensional data. This framework caters to both expert and non-expert users in acoustics, providing expert users with familiar descriptors and visualisations and introducing non-experts to simpler ones. Furthermore, to address users with no programming knowledge, it develops a web-based application enabling easy access to the collected dataset, the acoustic descriptors, and visualisations. It introduces a new workflow to the performance-driven acoustic design of sound-diffusing wall surfaces, allowing architects and designers to explore alternative wall designs with sound-diffusing properties, given a set of desired acoustic performance criteria.The proposed workflow has the potential to bring acoustics closer to the early phases of architectural design and enable a more integrative acoustic and architectural design exploration. Providing architects and acousticians with comprehensive and user-friendly tools for acoustics analysis can help integrate acoustics into the design process from the beginning rather than as an afterthought.}, keywords = {Architectural Acoustics; Dataset collection; Dataset; Computational Design; Machine Learning}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000626106}, title = {Data Driven Acoustic Design}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/648606, year = {2023}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, institution = {SNF}, author = {Cheibas, Ina}, size = {339 p.}, abstract = {Additive manufacturing is a rising trend in the construction field. It enables tailored facade designs that can incorporate environmental features like daylight, shading, ventilation, structural strength, and thermal conductivity. This potential enhances facade sustainability and energy efficiency attributes, achievable through recyclable mono-material components and integrated performances. However, the definitive demonstration of integrating environmental and fabrication parameters into computational facade design remains unrealized. This gap persists due to complex challenges in fabricating intricate building envelopes, necessitating consideration of numerous fabrication and environmental parameters, from accurate geometries, and good material properties to shading, daylight, air permeability, water tightness, and structural integrity.This research focuses on additive manufactured facade design strategies informed by both fabrication techniques and environmental considerations. The thesis provides fundamental design guidelines to support the fabrication of downcycled and multi-performative facade elements for light distribution and transmission, air permeability, water tightness, resistance to wind loads, and impact strength. The study employs both analytical and empirical methods to address three key criteria: (1) Design, (2) Material and fabrication, and (3) Environmental performance evaluation. The design process and guidelines (1) are thoroughly explored, encompassing the integration of fabrication and multiple environmental performances into a single mono-material element. Subsequently, material and fabrication methods (2) are analyzed through experimental testing at an architectural scale, utilizing a robotic arm and thermoplastic polymer material extrusion. Finally, performance evaluation (3) serves as the results validation of several large-scale prototypes. This approach opens up new possibilities for creating environmentally responsible architectural facades that push the boundaries of sustainable design.}, keywords = {additive manufacturing; 3D Printing Facade; environmental performance; thermoplastics}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000648606}, title = {Additive Manufactured Facade. Integrative design of complex additive manufactured geometries informed by fabrication and multi-performative environmental parameters}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/604464, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2023}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Ercan Jenny, Selen}, size = {195 p.}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000604464}, title = {Robotic Plaster Spraying. Crafting Surfaces with Adaptive Thin-Layer Printing On-Site}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/627524, year = {2023}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, institution = {SNF}, author = {Burger, Joris Jan}, size = {236 p.}, abstract = {No other building material has influenced our contemporary built environment like concrete has. Its qualities include high structural strength, widespread availability, and the ability to take almost any form. Typically, concrete building elements are given their shape using formwork made from timber or steel. However, the fabrication of these formworks is labour-intensive and wasteful, especially for complex, non-standard concrete structures. The difficulty of formwork fabrication is one of the reasons why designs in concrete tend to be standardised and confined to orthogonal shapes. Although standard shapes in concrete are simple to construct, they often use more material than structurally necessary. In contrast, one defining characteristic of material-efficient concrete structures is that they typically have complex, non-standard geometries. As the concrete construction industry is responsible for a large portion of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, sustainability must be considered a key driver in the design and fabrication process of architectural concrete structures. Therefore, effective methods for producing non-standard formwork must be developed to enable material-efficient concrete structures. This research responds to these challenges and investigates the use of robotically 3D printed formwork to expand geometrical freedom and allow for the prefabrication of material-efficient concrete structures. Several types of structural building elements are explored through the design and fabrication of prototypes. The architectural potential of this fabrication process is explored through three case studies: a non-standard structural column, an optimised floor slab, and a pavilion combining both elements. The results of this research expand the possibilities for digital design and fabrication of non-standard concrete elements, aiding the transition toward more sustainable construction using concrete.}, keywords = {3D Printing; Concrete; Formwork; Digital Fabrication; Architecture}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000627524}, title = {Robotically 3D Printed Formwork for Concrete Structures}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850-660060, author = {Johns, Ryan Luke}, year = {2023}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, address = {Zurich}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, size = {178 p.}, language = {en}, abstract = {On-site robotic construction not only has the potential to enable architectural assemblies that exceed the size and complexity practical with laboratory-based prefabrication methods, but also offers the opportunity to leverage context-specific, locally-sourced materials that are inexpensive, abundant, and low in embodied energy. Toward these ends, this doctoral research is focused on developing a novel process for the robotic construction of dry stone walls in situ, bounded by design constraints and facilitated by a customized autonomous hydraulic excavator. These walls are built using as-found natural stones and reclaimed demolition debris, using a construction pipeline that automatically collects an inventory of these materials by detecting, grasping, and 3D-scanning them directly on site. Given a limited inventory of these digitized stones, a geometric planning algorithm determines how each of these objects should be positioned toward the formation of stable and explicitly-shaped structures. By adapting knowledge from traditional stone masonry practices, this planning algorithm uses a combination of geometric features to seed hypothesis stone placement candidates. These candidates are then refined toward stable and geometrically-aligned solutions using a combination of torque- and penetration- constrained iterative closest point registration, and physics simulation. Ultimately, these solutions are classified for placement viability, using a supervised model that considers a 3-channel signed-distance-field data-representation of each solution that encapsulates the candidate stone, the local context of terrain and previously-placed stones, and the freeform target-wall geometry. To accommodate settling and process tolerances, the geometric planner works iteratively, using information from an accumulated LiDAR map to regularly update the as-built structure after each stone is placed—and before each successive search for new candidate placements. Using this approach, the planner is able to inform the construction of double-layer walls, using highly nonstandard stones and debris—creating structures with a 60% fill-to-void ratio within arbitrarily-defined wall boundaries. This process is further informed by large-scale, outdoor physical experiments. These experiments resulted in the construction of three robotically-constructed dry stone walls, that are built using gneiss boulders, erratics unearthed on construction sites, and salvaged concrete demolition debris. These demonstrators include a 40-stone s-curved wall (5 x 1.6 x 3 m), and a linear freestanding wall (10 x 1.7 x 4 m) constructed with 24% reclaimed concrete. At the last stage of development, this work is evaluated through the first robotic construction of a permanent and publicly-accessible stone retaining wall (65.5 x 1.8 x 6 m) consisting of 938 unique elements—and that is integrated with robotic landscape features based on the doctoral research of Dominic Jud (Robotic Systems Lab) and Ilmar Hurkxkens (Chair of Landscape Architecture). Collectively, these demonstrations saw the robotic placement of over one thousand coarse boulders, with each weighing an average of one tonne. The physical testing conducted during these experiments revealed shortcomings and necessary improvements to the process, and allowed us to provide the first benchmarks for large-scale robotic assembly with nonstandard stones. These studies demonstrated robotic stone placement rates up to 12.2 min/stone, and quantified the ability of this method to reduce emissions by upwards of 40% when compared to equivalently performing concrete structures. This work illustrates the potential of autonomous heavy construction vehicles to build adaptively with highly irregular, abundant and sustainable materials that require little to no transportation and preprocessing—creating structures which benefit aesthetically and environmentally from the properties of regionally-specific natural materials.}, keywords = {Dry stone walls; Robotic construction; Digital fabrication}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, DOI = {https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000660060}, title = {Autonomous Dry Stone. Mobile Robotic Construction with Naturally Nonstandard Materials}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/602129, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2022}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Ariza, Inés}, size = {406 p.}, abstract = {This thesis presents an additive joining technique and an adaptive detailing pipeline for robotic assembly of spatial structures. The thesis starts by identifying how designing for and building with robots brings new challenges for the designer who –now in explicit control of both design and production– needs to be knowledgeable in the possibilities of robotic joining tools and processes. The context of inquiry is a case study of spatial structures in steel with non-planar interfaces between elements. The three-dimensional nature of the interfaces presents an unprecedented building challenge in robotic fabrication, requiring an investigation of appropriate materials, processes, and fitting techniques to fix the parts in space. These challenges, dependent on diverse expertise and knowledge, funnel back to the current lack of consolidated detailing concepts and methods for robotic fabrication. The investigation is, therefore, twofold: First, an additive joining technique to join metal parts is developed. The technique applies the known Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) process in place directly on the parts to be joined during assembly, in contrast with typical approaches where connections are prefabricated in an exclusive 3D printing environment. The resulting in place WAAM (IPWAAM) technique is developed alongside tolerance handling procedures to measure and adapt to the actual location of parts, as well as collision control methods to move safely between obstacles during the 3D printing process. Second, a computational detailing pipeline is developed to coordinate the different challenges of designing and building IPWAAM connection details. The pipeline integrates robotic, material, and functional requirements and, by linking the digital and physical models of the IPWAAM connections, it allows the design to adapt as needed based on the building data gathered during production, resulting in a novel adaptive detailing approach. The thesis develops through physical experiments to test the joining and detailing approaches and virtual experiments to anticipate the challenges of their application in the context of spatial structures. As a result, the physical outcomes demonstrate an unprecedented method for joining non-planar metal parts. Finally, the adaptive detailing approach provides a basis for detailing computationally in the context of robotic fabrication, aiming to support the current efforts of building a rich and transparent digital building culture.}, keywords = {robotic fabrication; digital fabrication; adaptive fabrication; computational design; connection detailing; architectural detailing; Joining technique; WAAM; Wire and arc additive manufacturing; additive manufacturing; Directed Energy Deposition; steel connection; Detailing}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000602129}, title = {Adaptive Detailing. Design and Fabrication Methods for In Place Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing Connection Details}, school = {ETH Zurich}

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/518815, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2021}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Ma, Zhao}, size = {187 p.}, abstract = {While the utilization of robot arms has increased since the construction industry began to deploy robotic technologies for digital fabrication processes, a pipeline is missing for fabrication-aware design as the abstraction of complex, contradictory constraints for the designer is not evident. %the non-standard characteristics of building components still pose major challenges that require flexible and adaptable robotic fabrication strategies. Additional geometric complexity, material properties, etc. also contribute to the overall difficulties for fabricating the designated piece successfully without any collisions or structural failure. Through the development of two projects focusing on different aspects of robotic fabrication, this dissertation identifies various limitations related to the overall design-to-fabrication process and categorizes them into different types of constraints. It is observed that many of the constraints occurred within one fabrication task are usually intertwined and cannot be decoupled, which requires integrated computational strategies to resolve. By adopting available methods in the computer graphics field that address geometry and material, this dissertation presents a series of optimization-based strategies in the context of two specific research projects, targeting geometry processing and path planning for robotic fabrication. Its aim is to demonstrate the potential of using optimization methods to obtain achievable robotic fabrication solutions under sophisticated requirements. Focusing on geometry processing and path planning, respectively, this dissertation employs optimization approaches to assist with design aims, and develops a conceptual framework for solving fabrication-aware robotic fabrication tasks. The formulation of the optimization problems in this dissertation empowers the design processes to be fabrication-aware so as to be compatible with the selected fabrication technology. It provides a more mathematical and holistic perspective for looking at robotic fabrication technologies in the architectural domain.}, keywords = {Sculpting; Architecture; Robotic Fabrication; Computer Graphics}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000518815}, title = {Computational Re-Forming. Computational Strategies for Robotic Fabrication of Shaping Malleable Materials}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/497546, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2021}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Aejmelaeus-Lindström, Johan Julius Petrus}, size = {204 p.}, abstract = {The research presented herein brings forward the robotic aggregation of low-grade building material into load-bearing architectural structures that are re-usable and re-configurable with high geometrical flexibility and minimal material waste. It focuses on the physical phenomena of jamming, by which granular matter can yield and flow or jam and solidify depending on its confinement, which can be used to create architectural structures. A novel material system is identified that combines construction aggregates with tensile reinforcement. Subsequently, the constraints of this material system are analysed to explore the design space of Jammed Architectural Structures. Finally, an appropriate construction system is developed based on robotic fabrication and computational design. The research identifies a series of fabrication methods, Rock Printing, to shape and realize load bearing jammed structures are developed. A set of building experiments validate the approach for building and construction applications. The experiments resulted in a four-legged column, showcasing the material systems geometrical flexibility, a freestanding wall element, exploiting the ability to build without formwork and a full-scale pavilion, demonstrating the potential for architectural applications. This thesis brings forward a new perspective on how aggregating building materials can be used to form architectural structures through a robotic fabrication process, for which the materials can be locally sourced and ultimately returned to their original state.}, keywords = {Robotic fabrication; Digital fabrication; Jammed architectural structures; Granular materials; granular matter; computational design}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000497546}, title = {Rock Printing. Robotic fabrication of jammed architectural structures from bulk materials}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850-387856, author = {Rusenova, Gergana}, year = {2019-11-18}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, address = {Zurich}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, size = {209 p.}, language = {en}, abstract = {In the last two decades an increasing number of professionals and researchers have attempted to minimise the harmful impact of the building industry on the environment by taking advantage of ongoing technological progress. Computational design and digital fabrication technology are combined to realise geometrically or functionally complex architectural artefacts. As a result, optimised material use can be achieved. Nevertheless, in the context of the current advancements in the field, one key research strand has remained rather underdeveloped — recycling, which is considered essential for preventing overconsumption of materials and, in this way, foster environmental sustainability. In this regard, this doctoral research investigated a non-standard material system that firstly, was made of locally-obtained ingredients and secondly could be used to fabricate architectural elements without the use of formwork and ultimately facilitated a fully reversible construction process. The building elements discussed here are called Jammed Architectural Structures (JAS) and consisted of unbound crushed stones confined by textile string. These largely-available bulk materials were shaped into full-scale architectural artefacts through a robotic fabrication process that did not require moulds during construction. The absence of a binding matrix between the stones and the string resulted in their complete separation during deconstruction and thus complete recycling. However, to investigate the material system's capacity to act as an effective building material and to study its design and application potential, it was crucial to explore the material system's properties. The thesis explored the material system's applicability for architectural purposes through the analysis of its structural behaviour under loading conditions. In this way, the possibility of using the string-confined crushed stones for the construction of structurally-sound building components was tested. Additionally, the design space of the material system was explored by developing material-informed and fabrication-aware computational methods that integrated the collected knowledge of the specific material properties and the constraints imposed by the robotic fabrication process. Ultimately, the work targeted the realisation of full-scale load-bearing architectural structures to validate the techniques developed and to demonstrate the architectural potential of the investigated material system at large. In general, the results outlined aimed to contribute to the existing studies on possible applications of granular matter for architecture — a still immature branch in the realm of construction which explores the possibility for recycling of full-scale architectural elements through reversible construction logic. Moreover, due to the application of locally-obtained and largely-available materials, this work is placed in the context of vernacular architecture and, as such, is considered a relevant part of the overall research on environmentally sustainable solutions for the built environment.}, keywords = {Jammed Architectural Structures; DIGITAL FABRICATION IN ARCHITECTURE; COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ARCHITECTURE; COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN; COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING, CIM (PRODUCTION); Granular matter; Material properties; LOAD-BEARING STRUCTURES + STRUCTURAL PARTS (STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING); Material design}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, DOI = {https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000387856}, title = {Material- and Fabrication-informed Design of Structurally-sound Jammed Architectural Structures}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/453808, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2020-11}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Szabo, Anna}, size = {185 p.}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000453808}, title = {Design and Fabrication of Thin Folded Members with Digital Concrete Processes}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/478068, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2020}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, institution = {SNF}, author = {Gandia, Augusto}, size = {129 p.}, abstract = {The development of computational design technologies and prefabricationsystems have enabled the construction of bespoke long-span spatial structures. However, the construction of such structures still relies on wastefulmilling processes for the production of custom parts and labor-intensiveprocesses for their manual assembly. Building upon prefabrication systems,several institutions investigated robotic processes for the automatic construction of bespoke spatial structures. However, the new challenges introducedby these complex processes have been only handled through inefficient andproject-specifc fabrication strategies that lead to constrained designs.This thesis investigates computational design methods to tackle two of themost relevant challenges of robotically assembling spatial structures, whichinclude the generation of collision-free robot paths and the handling of tolerance build-up. The two methods enable the computational rationalization of spatial structures, meaning that they allow verifying input designson their buildability. Such verification is pursued through two complementary strategies. The first strategy is computational post-rationalization andallows verifying a design after it is defined. The second strategy is computational co-rationalization and allows re-adjusting a design while verifying itsbuildability.The ultimate goal of this thesis is to extend the range of spatial structuresthat can be robotically fabricated through efficient and less wasteful construction processes. An additional goal is to enable the computational rationalization of the structure ahead of the construction phase to explore awider range of spatial structures. The investigation complements the investigation of other research projects, by integrating the methods researchedby this thesis within the design workflow of these projects. This integrationallows validating the methods through the computational rationalization oflarge-scale spatial structures and their realization in the Robotic FabricationLaboratory at ETH Zurich.}, keywords = {Architecture; Robotic fabrication; Computational design and digital fabrication}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000478068}, title = {Robotic Fabrication Simulation. A Computational Method for the Design of Fabrication-aware Spatial Structures}, school = {ETH Zurich}

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/439443, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, year = {2020}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Adel Ahmadian, Arash}, size = {153 p.}, language = {en}, address = {Zurich}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000439443}, title = {Computational Design for Cooperative Robotic Assembly of Nonstandard Timber Frame Buildings}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850-364322, author = {Parascho, Stefana}, year = {2019}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, address = {Zurich}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, size = {235 p.}, language = {en}, abstract = {Robotic fabrication has expanded existing construction techniques, i.a. through enabling the assembly of bespoke structures made form discrete elements. This has substantially increased the design freedom, particularly through allowing designers to conceive and fabricate structures with complex geometries. However, this design freedom along with the intricacies of new fabrication methods has introduced new challenges regarding both digital design and materialisation. Robotic assembly, like other fabrication techniques, comes with its own constraints and limitations which are often difficult to intuitively describe. Similarly, bespoke geometries can result in complex geometric dependencies. This leads to a need for design methods that can control the resulting complexity and integrate it in the design process. The thesis is built around a cooperative robotic assembly method that utilises two robots to construct spatial structures made of steel bars. This expands existing assembly techniques by enabling the robots to change their role during the fabrication process while at the same time supporting each other. As a result, bespoke structures with complex geometries are built without the need of supporting or guiding structures. The proposed structures are based on a novel construction system that allows for a high level of differentiation. This is achieved particularly through a connection typology that allows to accommodate bars connecting at individual angles to each other. Furthermore, it presents a computational design strategy for geometrically, structurally and fabrication informed designs that is based on the assembly sequence and allows for a reciprocal information flow between design and fabrication. The goal of the thesis is to provide a set-up for designing and constructing spatial structures by connecting design and fabrication in one interlinked process. This is achieved through a combination of physical prototyping and digital design generation, by simultaneously developing the three main topics of the research: Constructive system, which includes geometric, structural and material systems, cooperative robotic assembly and computational design. Following hypothesis lays at the base of the thesis: Developing computational tools for simultaneously controlling the complexity of design, fabrication and structure leads to the mitigation of the limitations of prevailing spatial structures. This, in turn, allows architects and designers not only to fabricate complex designs but to envision new typologies of structures by gaining control and fully exploiting the design space resulting from fabrication, structure and geometry. Ultimately this leads to an expansion of the architectural design language.}, keywords = {robotic fabrication; computational design; digital fabrication; cooperative robotic assembly}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, DOI = {https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000364322}, title = {Cooperative Robotic Assembly. Computational Design and Robotic Fabrication of Spatial Metal Structures}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/328683, author = {Dörfler, Kathrin}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, year = {2018-10}, language = {en}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, keywords = {in situ fabrication; robotic fabrication; digital fabrication; computational design; adaptive fabrication}, size = {201 p.}, adress = {Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000328683}, title = {Strategies for Robotic in Situ Fabrication}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/266723, author = {Apolinarska, Aleksandra Anna}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, year = {2018}, language = {en}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, keywords = {COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ARCHITECTURE; COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN; BUILDING CONSTRUCTION (ARCHITECTURE); TIMBER CONSTRUCTION (CONSTRUCTION METHODS); RECIPROCAL FRAMES; ROBOTIC ASSEMBLY; STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS; ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PROCESS; DESIGN OPTIMIZATION; CAD (COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN)}, institution = {SNF}, size = {164 p.}, adress = {Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000266723}, title = {Complex Timber Structures from Simple Elements. Computational Design of Novel Bar Structures for Robotic Fabrication and Assembly}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/263345, author = {Hack, Norman Peter}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, year = {2018-05}, language = {en}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, keywords = {Digital Fabrication}, size = {307 p.}, adress = {Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000263345}, title = {Mesh Mould: A Robotically Fabricated Structural Stay-in-Place Formwork System}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/266031, author = {Rust, Romana}, publisher = {ETH Zurich}, year = {2017}, language = {en}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, keywords = {FORMWORK (BUILDING TECHNOLOGY); COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ARCHITECTURE; CAD (COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN); HOT-WIRE CUTTING; COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN; DIGITAL FABRICATION IN ARCHITECTURE; COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATION; FEEDBACK-CONTROL; COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING, CIM (PRODUCTION)}, size = {172 p.}, adress = {Zurich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-b-000266031}, title = {Spatial Wire Cutting. Integrated Design, Simulation and Force-adaptive Fabrication of Double Curved Formwork Components}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/123830, author = {Lloret Fritschi, Ena}, publisher = {ETH Zürich}, year = {2016}, language = {en}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, keywords = {SLIDING SHUTTERING + CLIMBING FORMWORK (BUILDING TECHNOLOGY); GLEITSCHALUNG + KLETTERSCHALUNG (BAUTECHNIK); PREFABRICATED CONCRETE ELEMENTS (PREFABRICATED CONSTRUCTION); COMPUTER-INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING, CIM (PRODUCTION); COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING, CIM (PRODUKTION); BETONFERTIGTEILE (FERTIGBAU)}, size = {1 Band}, adress = {Zürich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-a-010800371}, title = {Smart Dynamic Casting - A digital fabrication method for non-standard concrete structures}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/155909, author = {Lim, Jason}, publisher = {ETH Zürich}, year = {2016}, language = {en}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, keywords = {ROBOTIK; ARCHITEKTENAUSBILDUNG (BERUFSAUSBILDUNG); ROBOTERPROGRAMMIERUNG; AUFRICHTUNG + MONTAGE (BAUTECHNIK); ROBOTICS; ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION (VOCATIONAL EDUCATION); ROBOT PROGRAMMING; ASSEMBLING + ERECTION PROCEDURES (BUILDING TECHNOLOGY)}, size = {1 Band}, adress = {Zürich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-a-010748012}, title = {YOUR: Robot programming tools for architectural education}, Note = {Dissertation. ETH Zürich. 2016. No. 23626.}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/130425, author = {Ammar, Mirjan}, publisher = {ETH Zürich}, year = {2016}, language = {en}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, keywords = {KONSTRUKTION IM HOCHBAU (ARCHITEKTUR); BAUWESEN (GEBAUTE UMWELT); HUBSCHRAUBER, QUADROKOPTER, MULTIKOPTER (LUFTFAHRTTECHNIK); UNBEMANNTE FLUGZEUGE (LUFTFAHRTTECHNIK); BUILDING CONSTRUCTION (ARCHITECTURE); BUILDING (BUILT ENVIRONMENT); HELICOPTERS, QUADROTORS, MULTIROTORS (AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING); UNMANNED AIR VEHICLES (AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING)}, size = {203 p.}, adress = {Zürich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-a-010881983}, title = {Aerial Construction: Robotic Fabrication of Tensile Structures with Flying Machines}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/113633, author = {Bonwetsch, Tobias}, publisher = {ETH Zürich}, year = {2015}, language = {en}, copyright = {In Copyright - Non-Commercial Use Permitted}, keywords = {BRICK MASONRY + BRICKWORK (BUILDING ELEMENTS); ASSEMBLY ROBOTS; BUILDING RESEARCH (BUILDING INDUSTRY); BAUFORSCHUNG (BAUWIRTSCHAFT); BACKSTEINMAUERWERK + ZIEGELSTEINMAUERWERK (BAUTEILE); CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY + DEVICES (BUILDING TECHNOLOGY); COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN - COMPUTER-AIDED MANUFACTURING, CAD-CAM (PRODUKTION); BUILDING RATIONALIZATION + INDUSTRIALIZED BUILDING (CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT); BAURATIONALISIERUNG + INDUSTRIELLES BAUEN (BAUMANAGEMENT); MONTAGEROBOTER; BAUMASCHINEN + BAUGERÄTE (BAUTECHNIK); COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN - COMPUTER-AIDED MANUFACTURING, CAD-CAM (PRODUCTION)}, size = {1 Band}, adress = {Zürich}, DOI = {10.3929/ethz-a-010602028}, title = {Robotically assembled brickwork. Manipulating assembly processes of discrete elements}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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@PHDTHESIS{20.500.11850/111963, year = {2014}, type = {Doctoral Thesis}, author = {Helm, Volker}, size = {210 S.}, language = {de}, address = {Köln}, publisher = {Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln}, title = {In-situ-Fabrikation: Neue Potentiale roboterbasierter Bauprozesse auf der Baustelle}, Note = {Dissertationen der Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln (KHM DISS 0002).}, school = {ETH Zurich} }

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