Materializing Hybridity in Architecture (2019-08)¶

Buildings consist of subsystems and components which have various functional and performance requirements. This inherent multiplicity demands the design and production of multi-material systems with varying and complementary properties and behaviours. This paper discusses a set of methods of digital design modelling and robotic production of hybridity in various architectural scales. In the case studies, the performance criteria serve as the underlying logic of the design and computation. The projects showcase how programmability and customizability of robotic manufacturing allow for establishing feedback loops from the production to design. Three projects are discussed in detail: a hybrid of flexible cork and rigid polystyrene, a hybrid ofstructural concrete with an intertwined permanent mould, and a hybrid ofsoft additively deposited silicone and subtractively producedhardfoam.Each project has specific design performance criteria, with which a certain level ofgeometric complexity and variation is accomplished. Therefore, the research objective is to define and materialize the practical and robotically producible ranges of geometric complexities for each of the proposed methods. Additionally, the customization and development ofrobotic production setups are discussed. The research concludes that multi-materiality achieved through multimode robotic production methods introduces a higher, on-demand, and performance-driven resolution in building systems.