Toward autonomous architecture: The convergence of digital design, robotics, and the built environment

The way we design, construct, and inhabit buildings is changing—moving toward greater integration of robotic and autonomous systems that challenge our preconceived notions of how buildings are made, what they are, or what they should be.

The built environment of the future will be fundamentally different from that of today. Progress in robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), and more broadly computer science (CS), is unifying the activities of design and construction by bringing the designer and the maker closer together. As architecture embraces greater levels of autonomy to address industry needs for greater productivity, understanding the future role of design is important, particularly in consideration of human activity and values.

Pawar, V. M., Stuart-Smith, R., & Scully, P. “Toward autonomous architecture: The convergence of digital design, robotics, and the built environment.” Science Robotics, 2(5), DOI: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.aan3686, 2017

The Autonomous Manufacturing Lab (AML) explores the integration of robotic manufacturing and construction within architectural design. The AML aims to reduce the environmental and economic costs of design and production while enhancing their cultural and aesthetic impact. The lab's integrative methods for generative design and manufacturing are developed as semi-autonomous systems, exploring possibilities for artisanal-like craftsmanship to be scaled to large production volumes. This approach provides greater specificity and enhanced aesthetic character in design responses compared to traditional automated methods, whilst also reducing material use and waste within bespoke design and production processes. The AML's research enhances design and production capabilities across diverse manufacturing methods and materials by developing industrial and mobile robot fabrication techniques, multi-agent systems, AI/machine learning computational approaches, and applications of real-time sensor and computer vision technologies. This multidisciplinary research includes the development of Aerial Additive Manufacturing, recently published in Nature, which demonstrates the world’s first in-flight additive manufacturing by cooperating drones, representing a rapidly deployable form of collective robotic construction.

University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design
The Weitzman School of Design prepares students to address complex sociocultural and environmental issues through thoughtful inquiry, creative expression, and innovation. As a diverse community of scholars and practitioners, we are committed to advancing the public good–both locally and globally–through art, design, planning, and preservation.

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Toward autonomous architecture: The convergence of digital design, robotics, and the built environment

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