Performative Wood investigates what innovations in robotic fabrication could mean for design in this material. As technology advances and drawing in architecture becomes more closely engaged with fabrication through digital design tools, how we conceive of architecture and the role of the designer become more closely entwined.
Innovation in material and fabrication have changed the language of architecture in the past and will continue to do so. Wood can be seen as the material of this century because of its sustainable and renewable properties. To look at the synergies of the characteristics of this material in a new way and combine this with robotic fabrication may bring some interesting developments in design language.
The Mille-feuille Pavilion is a robotically fabricated temporary pavilion, installed at the University of British Columbia. The pavilion is the result of a workshop hosted by the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) and the Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP), which took place from June 4-8, 2022. The workshop was led by Assistant Professor David Correa of the University of Waterloo, Oliver David Krieg of Intelligent City, and Associate Professor AnnaLisa Meyboom from UBC SALA.
The experimental structure demonstrates how long-used materials can partner with new design and high accuracy fabrication technologies to create new ways of using the material – pushing the boundaries of how we build. The installation is part of a larger investigation of how we build with wood considering parametric design programs, integrated data workflows and robotic fabrication technologies. It is one out of five full-scale pavilions that we have built at UBC since 2015.
