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Rock Print, Chicago, 2015
Architectural installation at the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial
Rock Print is the first architectural installation to be built from low-grade granular material and constructed by robotic machines. Conceived as an intriguing vertical object, the installation presents a radically new approach to The State of the Art of Architecture – the official title of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial 2015 – and brings forward a new category of random packed, potentially fully reusable, poly-dispersed jammed structures that can be automatically fabricated in non-standard shapes. Following an initial period of robotic assembly, the installation will comprise a large-scale architectural artefact in its completed form, exhibiting distinct features, such as, for example, full material reversibility and the respective reusability of the aggregated materials; structurally active interlocking, differentiated structural performance, while yielding high geometric flexibility and articulation. Performing a full scale 3D “rock printing process” that uses the self-aggregating capacities of the material itself, this visionary project is the first collaborative installation by Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, and the Self-Assembly Lab, MIT.

Credits:
Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, and Self-Assembly Lab, MIT

Collaborators: Andreas Thoma (project lead installation), Petrus Aejmelaeus-Lindström (project lead research), Dr. Volker Helm, Sara Falcone, Jared Laucks, Lina Kara'in, Michael Lyrenmann, Carrie McKnelly, George Varnavides, Stephane de Weck, Dr. Jan Willmann
Selected experts: Prof. Dr. Hans J. Herrmann and Dr. Falk K. Wittel (Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich), Prof. Dr. Heinrich Jaeger and Kieran Murphy (Chicago University)
Selected consultants: Walt + Galmarini AG
Sponsors: Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, swissnex, MISAPOR Beton AG


Copyright 2023, Gramazio Kohler Research, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Gramazio Kohler Research
Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication
ETH Zürich HIB E 43
Stefano-Franscini Platz 1 / CH-8093 Zurich

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