DADA Pavilion

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: DADA Pavilion was an experimental prototype fabricated and exhibited at the 2015 Digital Architecture Design Association (DADA) International Conference & Workshops held at Tongji University, Shanghai. It is part of Roland Snooks' series of architectural prototypes exploring the relationship between robotic fabrication, composite materials and algorithmic design. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: Developed through self-organisational algorithmic design processes and robotic fabrication, this work explored spatial self-organisation, emergent tectonics and the relationship between robotic and algorithmic behaviour. The complex geometry of the pavilion was robotically fabricated through the interaction of two Kuka robots, which bent the aluminium rods comprising the form. The robots had a precise set of physical and mechanical constraints that limited the possible angles and direction of the bends. The contribution of this research is the development of a design approach that encodes the constraints of robotic fabrication within generative design algorithms. This work is part of two research trajectories by Snooks: (1) to develop and articulate a behavioural approach to architectural design that draws from the logic of swarm intelligence and operates through multi-agent algorithms; and (2) to explore the implications of robotic fabrication on architectural design. In particular this creative work develops collaborative robotic strategies, where multiple robots work together on the fabrication of a complex form. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The value of this work is attested to through its inclusion in the DADA conference and exhibition, the premier biennial event in China for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of digital design and fabrication. Another iteration of this research was presented at 'Robotic Futures' (an exhibition at the 2015 Shanghai Biennale), which developed an architectural prototype composed of brass rods.